Digicross TV Series
by Patrick O'Shea
Summary: COMPLETE. It's been fun, but it's time I brought this bad boy home. Hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. Now for those other two series, plus the numerous other stories I've promised to write...
1. Angels of Steel

Recap (Davis v/o)  
  
"Last time, this new kid, Kyle, came to the Digital world from a completely different planet! He had these neat monsters that look a bit like our Digimon but are called Pokemon. He even agreed to help us out in our fight against the Digimon Emperor, and now that Eevee can digivolve into Flareon, he's like officially one of us now. I just wonder if June can fit into one of those pokeballs of his..."  
  
(opening sequence: Digimon)  
  
Digicross series episode 1: "Angels of Steel"  
  
"Grenade Destroyer!"  
  
The first part of the plan had come off well. The six digidestined had managed to sneak into a city that, to Kyle's eyes, looked like an inverted fishbowl. Part 2 of that plan, blow up the control spire, ran into a bit of a snag when several dozen digimon, Gardromon according to TK, swarmed out of every opening in sight and began attacking.  
  
"I think we should leave!" Cody said, as Digmon fought off another attacker.  
  
"No way, "Davis said. "The spire's still standing!"  
  
"I think Cody has the right idea," TK said, "THere's too many of them to fight off. We'll have to come back later!" The digidestined headed back for the portal. "Everyone, come back!" Kyle called, recalling Marowak into his pokeball. Eevee ran beside him, and Scyther ran just behind Kari.  
  
As they got to the portal, no one noticed the two Gardromon about to attack. Scyther got the first one as the digidestined dived through, but wasn't fast enough to get the second before it fired. Scyther dove, and knocked Kari and Gatomon clear before the shot struck, destroying the portal.  
  
"Thanks." Kari said, getting up. Looking, she saw Gatomon, still OK, and the Portal, now a smoking wreck. "Scyther" the mantis pokemon said, frustration clear in his voice.  
  
"You said it" Gatomon added.  
  
***  
  
Back at the computer room, the chaos had changed, but not improved.  
  
"Your stupid bug could have gotten Kari killed!" Davis shouted at Kyle.  
  
"Look, hawkeye, you were supposed to be keeping an eye out for troops. Or are those goggles cutting the oxygen from your brain cells?"  
  
Davis and Kyle looked ready to start fighting before TK and Yolei broke them up. "OK you two, calm down. We all could have kept better watch out, now let it go and let's figure out how to get Kari back."  
  
Lookning up from the computer, Yolei said "The portal to the city is wrecked, but there's another one nearby. It'll be a good 10 minute hike, but it's the best I can find."  
  
"Then I'm there! Hang on Kari, I'm coming to save you!" Davis said, getting his digivice out.  
  
"You mean we're going!" Kyle said, getting his out.  
  
"Make that us!" TK said. The three activated the portal, and vanished.  
  
"What was that all about?" Cody asked.  
  
Sighing, Yolei replied "you'll understand when you're older. Come on, we'd better let the others know what happened."  
  
***  
  
Back at the domed city, Kari, Gatomon, and Scyther had managed to find a temporary place to hide. At Scyther's continued look of frustration, Gatomon finally asked "Hey, is everything alright?"  
  
Scyther turned, looked at the two, and just bowed his head, eyes closed. The bug pokemon sighed.  
  
"Hey, snap out of it already!"  
  
Scyther's head snapped up at Gatomon's verbal attack. "I know you're blaming yourself for this, but there was nothing you could have done about it. And even if there was, it's too late to do anything about it now!"  
  
"Gatomon's right." Kari said, more gently. "You did what you could, and saved mine and Gatomon's life. Now stop acting so depressed. You are so much like Tai it's scary!" At Gatomon's inquiring look, Kari went on. "I'm serious, Tai means well, but every time he makes a mistake he takes it so personally."  
  
Gatomon was about to answer, but Scyther tensing up cut her off. Nearly literally, as he leaped over the digimon and intercepted the Gardromon that had managed to creep up (strange, but it happened) behind them. A quick slash destroyed the ring on it, and the mechanical digimon was rendered inert.  
  
"LIGHNING PAW!" Gatomon hit the Gardromon that came up on Scyther as he was attacking the first one, and disabled it, too. "We'd better get out of here. I hope the others are coming soon!"  
  
Outside (and a quick armour-digivolve later), Nefertimon and Scyther were flying above the streets, looking for another place to hide until help came. The reality of the situation hit Kari; as powerful as Nefertimon was, her attacks were too precise when dealing with a lot of targets. Scyther was in even worse shape. He had to get close to an opponent, and precisely aimed strikes on the dark rings made his cutting attacks a liability. Blades and metal didn't go well together.  
  
"Down there" Nefertimon called, indicating a small clearing. They'd had to fight this far, and the effort was wearing all of them out. "There's too many digimon down there!" Kari said.  
  
"Scyther!" Scyther said, and started spinning as he flew towards them. Kari remembered Kyle explaining Scyther's 'Swords Dance' power up, but she hadn't seen it before this.   
  
The effect was impressive enough. Scyther spun rapidly towards the Gardromon, and launched a series of devestating attacks on them, shattering as many dark rings as he could hit. Nefertimon took care of the rest, with a combination of her Cat's Eye beams and Rosetta Stones. The group landed.  
  
"That was too close" Nefetimon said. Scyther, using one of his blades to hold himself up, agreed.  
  
"We can't keep this up forever; I hope the others get here soon." Kari said, more than a little worried.  
  
"We'd better get moving then" Nefertimon said. "Need a lift Scyther?" Shaking his head, Scyther extended his own wings, and got ready to fly.  
The trio had been airborne for only a few minutes when Kari spotted TK. "Over here!" she yelled, as she, Scyther, and Nefertimon met TK, Davis, and Kyle, and their parter creatures.  
  
"Are we glad to see you!" Davis said. "Don't worry, Kari, I'm here to rescue you now!" Kyle and TK just palmed their faces.   
  
Scyther walked over to Kyle. "Scyther, you're ok?" Kyle asked. At Scyther's nod, Kyle relaxed a bit. "The others are on their way, we can hook up and get out of here." Sure enough, Yolei and Cody arrived just as they were talking.  
  
That was roughly the time that the Digimon Emperor, far away from the city but able to see everything in his main headquarters, decided to release his little 'surprise'.  
  
As the digidestined got caught up on Kari's adventures, they heard a metallic clank, a footstep coming towards them. At first, they thought it was more Gardromon, but to Kari and Nefertimon's ears, it sounded different, and oddly familiar. Looking past them, TK was the first to identify the source of the noise. "It can't be!" he gasped.  
  
Turning and seeing what had surprised TK, Kari recognized the figure coming towards them. "Andromon!"  
  
"You know him?" Davis said, incredulous. Kyle pulled out his pokedex and checked the digimon file. "Andromon: Vaccine type digimon, Ultimate level. Known attacks include Gatling Attack and Lightning Blade. Additionally, it's right hand can convert into a blade for infighting." Hearing the entry, Yolei looked at Kyle, stunned. "Did I hear that right? 'Ultimate' level?" At Kyle's nod, Yolei went on. "We're in trouble. He's got a dark ring on him!" Everyone could see the ring around Andromon's neck, crackling slightly.  
  
"Andromon, it's us" Kari said, walking towards the digimon. Unnoticing, the metallic creature continued it's walk towards the digidestined, the words 'Targets Acquired' flashing on the edges of his vision.  
  
"GET HIM!" Flamedramon roared. "FIRE ROCKET!" The other digimon joined in the attack; Flareon and Marowak attacked as well, but to little effect. What Andromon did not deflect with his massive forearms simply bounced off his metallic hide.  
  
"I can't get a clear shot at the ring!" Digmon said. "How about you, Pegasusmon?"  
  
"We'll give it a shot!" Pegasusmon called, as he, Halsemon, and Nefertimon tried an aerial attack, with similar results.  
  
In an emotionless voice, Andromon said "Now it is my turn. Lightning Blade." Right hand forming into a drill shape, Andromon fired a crescent of electrical energy at the flying digimon. One by one, the three flying digimon fell and went back to their Rookie (Champion, in Gatomon's case) form. The remaining digimon and pokemon closed to fight, and received a similar treatment.  
  
"Marowak!" Kyle shouted, as the bonekeeper pokemon fell to a rather nasty backhand from Andromon. The android digimon turned back to the digidestined, and started advancing towards them again. "Andromon" Kari tried again, "Don't you remember us?"  
  
"It's no good Kari" Cody shouted. "That dark ring's controlling him!" Kari looked at Cody, then turned back to see that Andromon was only a few feet from her!  
  
"SCYTHER!!" Then a blur of green and white intercepted Andromon, and started fighting him! Despite being exhausted, Scyther quickly leaped to Kari's defense, and began duelling with Andromon, his blades making sharp clangs as they hit Andromon's metallic skin.  
  
Kari backed up a few steps. To her and TK, the battle between Scyther and Andromon took on a surreal twist. They had a haunting image of Andromon fighting Piedmon during their fight with the Dark Masters, only now, the guy with two swords was on their side, fighting to defend them from Andromon.  
  
Andromon, to his credit, was feeling the same way. That the creature before him, clearly pushing itself beyond its already taxed physical limits, was still fighting was illogical. But for some reason, he had the oddest sense of deja vu. He'd fought in a battle like this before. Inside Andromon's head, the following messages scrolled along the bottom of his vision:  
  
##Target designate 'Scyther' using twin bladed attack style. Calling appropriate attack protocols from memory banks.  
  
##WARNING: Memory fault detected! Attempting to recalibrate.  
  
##Core fault: Attempting to re-route through back-up drive.  
  
##Recall successful: accessing data...  
  
In the lower left corner of his vision, a small screen opened up, and started playing a fight sequence (animation note: It's the 'Piedmon vs. Andromon Sequence' from the original series, just before he got turned into a keychain...) And at the corner of the playback, a small group of figures could be seen.  
  
##Accessing image files...magnifying  
  
All this took only a second in real time. Scyther's exhaustion finally got to him, and an opening gave Andromon the opportunity to knock the pokemon into a wall.   
  
**  
Snarling in frustration, the Digimon Emperor desperately tried to transfer more power to the ring controlling Andromon. "What's going on?!" He growled. "The ring is losing power!!"  
  
**  
  
"Andromon, it's us!" A new voice called out. Tai ran up, panting slightly. "You've got to remember who we are!!"  
  
"T..T..Tai?" Andromon said uncertainly. The ring around his neck crackled more fiercely, as it tried to suppress the memories that were starting to flood back. He took an uncertain step towards the digidestined, then, before anyone could react, picked Kari up.  
  
##Image recall successful: Subject designate 'Tai' in memory. Subject Designate 'Kari' in memory  
  
##Why am I attacking them??  
  
"Andromon?" Kari said. Kari's digivice started glowing, then fell on Andromon's neck. It touched the dark ring, and the evil device crackled furiously for another second, then faded. "I remember" he said, putting Kari down. "Tai. Kari. It is good to see you again."  
  
Shouting happily, Tai ran over to his sister. Kyle ran over to check on Scyther, who was only just starting to get up now, and still a little disoriented from the fight. Scyther got up, and walked over to Andromon, now being welcomed back by Tai, Kari and TK.  
  
"It's OK, Scyther, there's nothing to fight anymore" Kari said, a little worriedly. Scyther nodded, turned to face Andromon, and, holding up one of his bladed forearms, simply said "Scythe."  
  
"You are the one I fought" Andromon said. "It is good that I did not cause any permanent harm to you." So said, Andromon took Scyther's forearm, and shook it. Scyther responded by smiling, then, with a startled expression, glowed!  
  
"Scyther's evolving?" TK said, suprised as anyone else. Scyther's form, like those pokemon before him that had evolved, blurred, changed. When the light subsided, Scyther's evolution to Scizor had completed itself!  
  
"Scizor: The Scissors pokemon. It swings its eye patterned pincers up to scare its foes. It's powerful 'Metal Claw' attack can crush boulders. One of the newly discovered Steel Type pokemon" Kyle's pokedex reported.  
  
**  
  
Back in the Digimon Emperor's hideout, The Emperor, with Wormmon on the floor beside him, watched silently as Scyther evolved, as the Digidestined were reunited, as Andromon was freed, and as the control spire was destroyed. Standing up, the Emperor walked out of the room, never speaking a word.  
  
"Master?" Wormmon asked, following him. "What's wrong?" THe Emperor still said nothing, acted as if he had not heard the digimon beside him. As the Emperor reached the door where his portal back to his real-world home was, he finally acknowledged Wormmon's existence with two clipped words.  
  
"Wait here." With that, he entered the room, and closed the door before Wormmon could folow him in. There was silence for a minute, then a soul reaving scream ripped from the room, only partially muted by the door. There were no words, just the sense of the pure hatred and anger in that scream.  
  
After a full minute, the screaming stopped, and the familiar sound of the portal opening could be heard.  
  
**  
  
"Ken, dear," Ken's mother called outside his room, "Dinner is almost ready!" There was no answer, but she had become used to it by now. A look of pain crossed her worn features, but it was replaced by a smile that only looked slightly forced.  
  
"Is he coming?" Ken's father asked, as she re-entered the small kitchen.  
  
"Oh, he'll be here. You know how he is, he gets an idea in his head and he won't let it go until he's solved it."  
  
A minute later, Ken entered the dining room, with a formal, if a little cold, greeting. Dinner went well, though the two adults could have sworn it got unreasonably cold in the dining room.  
  
At the end of dinner, Ken's mother broke the silence. "Ken, your soccer coach called me to remind you that you have a soccer game the day after tomorrow. Will you be able to make it then?"  
  
Ken slowly looked up, and let a small smile out. "Yes mother, I believe I will be able to make it."  



	2. Ken's Secret

Digicross TV episode 2  
"Ken's secret."  
  
The field near Stone Town was quiet. Long grass swayed in the gentle evening breeze. The sun had only partly set, and the mountains that the sun was setting behind had a blood red colour to them.  
  
In that field, Kyle Ellison, recently returned from his latest visit to the Digital World, was helpping out with a local problem. Some of the farmers had reported that their animals had been attacked by a wild pokemon, but the type of claw marks left at the areas attacked were like nothing the young pokemon trainer had ever seen. Still, between Eevee and Growlithe, just released from the pokemon center with the provisio that he was *not* to battle for another few days, they had managed to track down the mystery attacker.  
  
A faint rustle in the grass caught Kyle's attention. The prey was close, he could feel the old excitement stirring in him. The thought of a new pokemon, even if he had to turn it over to the Center for observation and possible treatment, was enough to get to anyone in his line of work.  
  
Work? Heck, this was *fun*. Kyle, with Growlithe beside him, motioned to Eevee, who had advanced ahead a few meters, the pokemon's smaller size making it easier to sneak around in the grass. Just a little closer...  
  
And the sudden beeping of his D-Term (a gift from Izzy) startled him, and everyone in the area. The pokemon he was pursuing jumped, and leaped straight at Kyle. Eevee, only a fraction of a second slower, moved to intercept the attacking pokemon, while Growlithe inhaled sharply and let off a stream of fire. The small black pokemon ducked under the stream of flame, and only barely avoided a tackle from Eevee. Sensing it was outnumbered, it tried to flee the area.  
  
"Pokeball, GO!"  
  
===  
  
"Yep, that's the one, Kyle. Thanks for catching it" Nurse Joy said, as she studied the small creature.  
  
"What is it anyway? I've never seen anything like it" Kyle asked. Beside him, Eevee and Growlithe rested.  
  
"I'm not suprised you haven't. This is a Sneasle, a Dark-type pokemon. They're a realtively new discovery. Sneasle here has characteristics of Darkness and Ice types. Anyway, I'd better send it to Pallet Town for analysis. Professor Oak has a standing call for any of the new types that are found." At Kyle's slightly crestfallen expression, Nurse Joy went on, smiling a bit. "I know, you were hoping to claim this one, but this one's been attacking several farms, and the pokemon guarding them very visciously. It'd be too dangerous to have in a fight."  
  
"I guess. Well, thanks. See ya!"  
  
Back at Kyle's house, Mikhail, his father, was waiting for him. "So, how'd it go?"  
  
"It was a new one, a Sneasle." The two talked for a few minutes, then sat down for dinner. After they were finished, Mikhail asked Kyle "Say, didn't you say that computer thingie of yours went off?"  
  
"Oh right! Thanks dad!" Pulling out the D-Term, Kyle opened it up and checked the Inbox. There was one message, which read:  
  
To:kellison@stpokenet.com Kyle Ellison  
From:SoccerMaster@HaightonNET.org Davis Motomiya  
Subject: Soccer Invite  
  
Hey, Kyle!  
My soccer team is having a game tomorrow.   
Wanna come and see me win another?  
-Davis  
  
Chuckling, Kyle hit the 'reply' function  
  
To:SoccerMaster@HaightonNET.org  
From:kellison@stpokenet.com  
Subject: Re: Soccer Invite  
  
Sure. Should I bring the rotten tomatoes,   
oh grand kickmeister :-)?  
-Kyle   
  
The next morning, Kyle got up, and got his things together. There was no rush, the game wasn't until the evening.  
  
He was still almost late.  
  
==  
  
"Well, we don't normally allow pets, but he seems well trained."   
  
The track manager allowed Kyle by, Eevee perched on his shoulder. Walking to the benches by the field, Kyle quickly picked out the rest of the digidestined, and moved over to where they were sitting.  
  
"I see I'm not the only one who got invited" Kyle said, half jokingly.  
  
"Hey, you know Davis," Yolei said, "It's either this or listen to him retell the game in painful detail later." They laughed, and enjoyed the game for a few minutes. The game went well for the first half; Davis actually was half as good as he said (or so Yolei joked). It wasn't until the second half that things got a little odd.  
  
It started with Ken Ichijouji arriving.  
  
==  
  
'Play it cool', Ken said to himself. He couldn't believe his eyes. The digidestined, here!? And he couldn't do a thing to attack them.  
  
Calming, Ken shook off the wave of frustration. He may not be able to do anything to them directly, but humiliating that boy, Davis, in front of his friends might knock that brat down a few pegs. At the least, it'd make him feel better for a change, he thought to himself..  
  
Ken's only worry was the fact that Eevee might be able to recognize him. Already, the little pokemon had looked towards Ken, a confused look on its face. Ken was silently glad he was upwind of Eevee. He still wasn't sure of this...thing's...capabilities, but there was no point being betrayed by a scent. Walking down, he appoached Davis.  
  
"So, you're Davis. I am sure this will be an interesting game." Ken said.  
  
"Hey, it's always interesting when I'm on the field." Ken had to fight to keep from laughing. This boy thought he could challenge him? This will be easy.  
  
On the field, Ken's prediction proved accurate. Davis' team was unable to keep up with Ken's team, being outmatched by Ken's tactical sense and the discipline he had drilled into the team.  
  
In other words, Davis' team got whipped. Bad. The only downpoint, to Ken's view, was that the little rat actually blocking a shot Ken was about to make. Cut his leg a bit in the bargain too, blast it all. Time for the 'gracious winner' act...  
  
==  
  
"So, 'god of soccer', what's your next move?" Kyle asked, as they headed out of the stadium.  
  
"Funny. But I'm in too good a mood to try to take revenge, Ellison."  
  
"You're pretty happy about losing, Davis" Kari observed.  
  
"Hey, Ken called me his worthy opponent! Besides, he just got lucky. I'm so happy, dinner's on me!"  
  
"Davis offering to buy dinner?" Yolei said, stunned. "He must have taken a soccer ball to the brainpan!"  
  
Similarly stunned, Kyle failed to watch where he was walking, and wound up walking right into someone just entering the field, knocking that person over. "Oh, sorry!" Kyle said, offering his hand. The other person, who Kyle could tell was female, and looked familar for some reason, replied "Oh, it's OK, I should have been watching where I was going."  
  
Snapped out of his good mood, Davis snapped "June! Why did you have to show up here?!"  
  
"Oh come on, Davis, can't a big sister show a little support for her little brother?"  
  
"Big sister?" Kyle asked, a little confused. "Oh," TK said, cutting in, "Kyle Ellison, this is June Motomiya, Davis' sister." "Oh, pleased to meet you.." Kyle said a bit uncertainly.  
  
"Nice to meet you too. And who's this?" June said, looking at Eevee. Eevee looked up, and yipped. "Oohhh, he's so cute! Can I pick him up?" At Kyle's nod, June picked up the pokemon. "You take really good care of him, I can tell." June said. "Umm..thanks..." Kyle said, still a bit off stride.  
  
"You're pretty cute too" June said, as she handed Eevee back. Kyle was restunned, while the others there (human and digimon) alternated between shock and doing their level best not to completely lose control and crack up laughing. "Well, I'm off for home, try not to be too late Davis!" June chirped, as she headed off.  
  
As soon as June was out of earshot, Demiveemon said "You know, I think your sister liked Eevee."  
  
"Eevee wasn't the only thing she liked" Davis said slyly. Kyle blushed.  
  
"Think we should let Matt know he's off the hook?" TK said, grinning widely. Kyle still said nothing, just looking down at Eevee.  
  
"Kyle? What's wrong?" Cody asked. Saying nothing, Kyle pulled a small slip of paper out of Eevee's collar, handing it to Cody. "It's a note" Cody said. "'Email me sometime'. And it has June's email address on it."  
  
That did it. Everyone else just broke down laughing. Kyle's small voice saying "What just happened?" didn't help matters any, either.  
  
==  
  
The day after Kyle got back (and he was still refusing to say what happened, no matter how much his father tried to get it out of him), another email appeared on his D-Term.  
  
To:kellison@stpokenet.com  
From:izzy@worldnet.jp.org  
Subject: Got another one. Interested?  
  
Kyle,  
We found another control spire, but I  
think it might be a trap. Any chance you  
can give us a hand?  
-Izzy  
  
  
To:izzy@worldnet.jp.org  
From:kellison@stpokenet.com  
Subject: Re: Got another one. Interested?  
  
Anything to get last night out of my   
head. Dad won't let up about it :-(   
  
==  
  
When Kyle came through the portal into the computer room, he found that the other digidestined were already there. The first thing he noticed (and pointedly ignoring Kari's question about whether he ever got around to emailing June) was that Yolei was trying to shake Davis' hand. 'Trying', in the way that a 5 year old might try mashed potatoes for the first time, from the look on Yolei's face. "It's no good, it's not the same thing!!" Yolei finally said, frustrated.  
  
"Umm," Kyle asked, "what's up with Yolei and Davis?"  
  
"Not 'till you answer Kari's question first." TK said, grinning.  
  
"*sigh* Alright, no I did not email June last night.."  
  
"Why not?" Kari asked. "You two would make such a cute couple."  
  
"Yeah," Cody added in. "You shouldn't leave a girl hanging."  
  
"Et tu, Cody?"  
  
"Well, it's what Grandpa always says."  
  
"Izzy, PLEASE tell me the portal is open??"  
  
==  
  
Once through the portal, the group found themselves in a blasted wasteland, with little more than rocks, barren earth, and cliff faces to break up the terrain.  
  
"Where is this place again?" Davis asked.  
  
"The Forbidden Valley of No Return" Armadillomon replied.  
  
"Oh, well, as long as it's nowhere DANGEROUS" Yolei said sarcastically.  
  
"I believe I see the control spire ahead." Hawkmon said, just returning from scouting ahead.  
  
"Good. Hey, Kyle, your pokemon ready?" Davis asked.  
  
Grinning, Kyle replied "Heh. I have just the wrecking crew on hand." Eevee, walking beside him, yipped in the affirmative.  
  
"So, Kyle" Yolei said, slyly, "why HAVEN'T you called June?"  
  
"Yolei, trust me, it wouldn't work. We're from two different worlds. Literally."  
  
"You're just staAAAHHHHH!!!!" Yolei's reply was cut off as she and Hawkmon disappeared!  
  
"Where'd Yolei go?!" Davis said, as the group looked around, confused.  
  
"Last I saw, she was right here.." Kyle and Eevee walked to where Yolei was, and they, and the other digidestined (except Davis and Veemon). Kyle's last sensation was of falling through some dark, molasses like substance, then he blacked out.  
  
==  
  
When the group came to, they found themselves in a darkened room. "Well, this is the pits" Yolei said.  
  
Wincing, TK replied "Can the comedy. Anyone know where Davis is?"  
  
"I don't know where Davis is, but I think I know where we are." Cody said. As he spoke, the darkness around them was broken by a series of red eyes appearing, all staring at the digidestined.  
  
"Deep trouble?" Kari asked. Cody nodded.  
  
"Now might be a really good time to digivolve, guys!" Yolei said, a bit worried.  
  
"Digiarmour, Energize!" "Eevee, Digivolve!"  
  
[Insert "Armour Digivolve/Digivolve into Champion" sequence]  
  
"Into a circle; protect the children!" Pegasusmon said, as the Digimon (and Pokemon, if you want to get technical) took up defensive positions. Kyle called out Ivysaur and Scizor to help.  
  
That was about the time the swarm of mind controlled digimon (Pretty much every Rookie type out there) attacked. The next few minutes were a chaos of melee and ranged attacks. "This is getting silly! For every one I take down, two more pop up!" Digmon said.  
  
"You're telling me!" Halsemon replied.  
  
"You want out of this pit?" Kyle asked, grinning evilly. "OK. I call..."  
  
==  
  
"Davis, if you have a secret plan, now would be a good time to use it! You don't need to suprise me!" Veemon said.  
  
Ken looked down, enjoying the scene before him. If only that fool knew what was really going on, he thought to himself. Seeing him beg was the high point of this whole plan.  
  
That was the time that the rocky surface below Deltamon's feet broke away, and the giant digimon stumbled, nearly tripping. "Surprise? It's not even my birthday!" Digmon said, emerging from the rubble..   
  
The other digidestined ran up to where Davis and Veemon were. "Huh?" Davis said, confused. "If you're here, then who's that up there?" he asked, pointing at a line of humans and digimon, all tied up and looking remarkably like the digidestined. However, on seeing the real digidestined and digimon appear, the beings 'tied' to the ridge shifted their appearance, revealing the ghostly forms of Bakemon, all with control rings! "ATTACK!" roared the Emperor. The Bakemon, as well as Deltamon, moved to attack the digidestined.  
  
"Onix, Bind Attack!!" At Kyle's call, a giant stone serpent came up out of the ground, and attacked Deltamon, wrapping its long body around the giant Digimon, effectively restraining it. Seeing his chance, Davis yelled "Veemon, now!"  
  
"Veemon, armour-digivolve to...Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!" Flamedramon headed over to where Onix and Deltamon were fighting. As he got there, Onix was thrown off by Deltamon, who pointed its three heads at the rock snake pokemon and prepared to fire an energy blast.  
  
"Hey, remember me?" Deltamon turned, and Flamedramon charged, shouting "FIRE ROCKET!" as he leaped at the digimon, his body covered in flames. Flamedramon flew at the digimon, and hit the control ring around Deltamon's chest, shattering it.  
  
While this was going on, and the rest of the digidestined handling the Bakemon, Davis had decided that, while the digimon were fighting, now would be a good time to have a few words with the emperor. To wit, he charged and tackled the Emperor, knocking them both down the hill he was standing on.  
  
"You maniac, I'm gonna make sure you don't harm any more digimon!"  
  
"You think you have a chance against me?" he emperor said, getting up and smirking. "You have no idea who you are facing, my 'worthy adversary'."  
  
"Huh? What are you..." glancing down, Davis noticed a small patch of blood on the Emperor's leg. Suddenly, everything clicked. "You...You're..."  
  
"That's right! The Digimon Emperor is really Ken Ichijouji! And I am LEAVING right now! Airdramon!" At his call, a flying digimon swooped down, allowing Ken to leap on its back (Wormmon following Ken's lead), and flew off.  
  
==  
  
"And that's what happened" Kari finished.  
  
"I can't believe it. I mean, I'd heard of Ken Ichijouji, but that he'd be capable of something like this..."  
  
After the digidestined had returned, Izzy, who was waiting in the computer room, had tried to get an explanation out of them. Davis and Yolei were still stunned by Ken's secret, leaving TK, Kari, Cody, and Kyle to fill in Izzy on what happened.  
  
"Well," Cody said, "we do have one advantage; now that we know who the Emperor is, we can confront him here, where he won't have any digimon to do his fighting for him."  
  
"Well," TK said, wearily, "we can't do anything right now. It's late, and we should turn in."  
  
"Yeah" Kyle added. "I'd better get back too; I promised I'd visit Growlithe before the day ended, and Nurse Joy is really touchy when a pokemon is Under Her Care." After saying their goodbyes, the rest of the digidestined made their way home.  
  
==  
  
Poke-World, laboratory of Prof. Samuel Oak  
  
As Professor Oak examined the small catlike pokemon before him, part of his mind was still filled with wonder; After all these years, and these little creatures could still suprise him.  
  
"Personal log," Oak said, speaking into a small recorder, "This Sneasle is unusually vicious; I must remember to enter that into the main pokedex databank, as well as pass the word onto other pokemon researchers. This particular specimen possesses both qualities of Ice and the newly discovered Dark type..."  
  
As Oak went on, he was unaware of the person now entering his lab. She was a tall woman, dressed in a red overcoat and hat, from which came a long mane of white hair. The gloves on her arms, as well as the hat, had a spider web motif to them, and there were blood red gems on the back of her gloves. Black glasses completed her ensemble. She stood there for a few minutes, taking in the scene, and listening to the professor babble on.  
  
After a few minutes, he walked up to right behind the pokemon researcher, who was still unaware of her presence. Then, she pulled a single strand of hair from her head, and it stiffened, becoming a long, silvery needle. Grinning, she whispered "Spirit Needle."  
  
Taken unawares, Professor Oak had no chance to even see the long white needle that was pushed in just under his collar bone, waves of evil red energy coming out from it. Oak collapsed unconcious, and the lady walked up to the Sneasle that Oak had been examining.  
  
"Now then, let me make you a small...offer."  
  
"Sneasle?"  
  
To Be Continued...  
  



	3. The Strength of Loyalty

Note: This takes place just after "Storm of Friendship" Also, the management feels compelled to issue an ANGST ALERT!!  
  
  
Joe was glad to get out of school; bad as his old school was, studying to be a doctor was enough to drive most normal students to the brink of insanity.  
  
Quietly, as he waked over to Izzy's house, he thought back on everything that the new digidestined team had told him; about the Emperor, really a boy genius who came from around here, about the control spires, the rings, about how all the good digimon he had heard of being turned evil, and about Agumon.  
  
If that ever happened to Gomamon...Joe thought to himself, repressing a shudder. Entering the building where Izzy's apartment was, he wondered again what Izzy wanted to talk to him about. Couldn't be Kari, he thought with a grin. Reaching the appropriate door, Joe knocked, and waited a few seconds.  
  
Izzy's mother opened the door. "Oh, hello Joe! It's been a long time. Are you here to see Izzy?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Is he in?"  
  
"One second, I'll go get him."  
  
[opening sequence]  
  
Digicross TV episode 03  
"The Strength of Loyalty"  
  
"So, Izzy, what's the big emergency that you had to pull me out for?" Joe asked.  
  
In Izzy's room, the two digidestined sat down. "Well, I'm a little worried about Kyle. After that fight against MetalGreymon, he's been a little uneasy. He still helps out where he can, but he's been hesitating in using his pokemon. And when he does call one out, he calls it back as soon as the problem is resolved, and leaves."  
  
Grinning, Joe replied "and you want old reliable Joe Kido to see if he can pull the answers out of him? Sure. Where is he now?"  
  
"At the pokemon center in Stone Town. His dad emailed me saying he's been spending a lot of time there, having his pokemon checked out. It's getting a little strained over there."  
  
"Sure thing. I always wanted to travel; become a digidestined, see new places, and save the world, what, twice now?"  
  
"Three times, but who's counting" Izzy laughed.  
  
==Stone Town, Ellison Residence==  
  
Joe walked up to the front door of Kyle Ellison's house, and knocked on the door. On the trip over, he had been thinking about what Izzy had told him. He had a good idea of what might be getting to Kyle, time to see if his diagnosis was correct.  
  
Kyle's dad opened the door. "Yes, can I help you?"  
  
Bowing, Joe replied "yes, my name is Joe Kido, and I'm here to see Kyle? Izzy sent me."  
  
"Oh good. I'm getting worried about Kyle, he's been a little nervous, and being more than his usual level of overprotectedness to his pokemon. He's out back, I'll show you where."  
  
The Ellison house was a small 1 storey building, no driveway (it was within walking distance of town), it looked like any suburban house. The backyard was fairly large though, and had a beautiful view of Evolution mountain. Joe spotted Kyle, sitting at the far end of the field. Joe walked up to where he was; Kyle gave no sign of noticing him.  
  
"Hey there."  
  
Starting, Kyle looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just drifting."  
  
"No prob, I do it a lot too. My name's Joe, I'm one of the original digidestined."  
  
"Right, I remember Izzy telling me about you."  
  
"Only the good stuff I hope." Joe replied. Careful now, don't push him too fast...  
  
"So, what brings you by, Joe?"  
  
"Well, some of the others were worried, I was wondering if everything was alright."  
  
Sighing, Kyle seemed to sag a little. "I got an update on Growlithe's condition." Kyle stopped for a second, then went on. "Whatever was in that dark ring Ken got him with didn't stop when it was removed. He can't evolve, ever again."  
  
Ow, Joe thought. I thought I was close, but this..."That's terrible. How's he taking it?"  
  
"Growlithe? He was bummed out, but I think he's gonna be OK."  
  
"Whereas you..."  
  
"Whereas I did it to him, however indirectly" Kyle said. "It didn't hit me until just a few days ago that this isn't the Pokemon League. I mean, I knew, but it never really sank in. The League was never this bad. At least there, I could do something"  
  
Joe thought for a few seconds. "Don't sell yourself short; you've done some amazing things in the digital world. You and your pokemon saved Biyomon the first day you were there; and don't forget about Ogremon and Andromon. Kari told me about the fight with Andromon; anyone who could train someone to fight like that has to be good.  
  
"Besides, you're hardly the first to feel this way"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Joe recounted the time that Tai tried to force Agumon do digivolve to his ultimate level, and got SkullGreymon for his troubles; how agumon couldn't digivolve after that, and how Pixiemon forced Tai and Agumon to get over their fears and be able to digivolve again. And about the time Matt and MetalGarurumon fought Tai and WarGreymon during their battle with the Dark Masters.  
  
"It still doesn't forgive the fact that because of me, Growlithe can't evolve."  
  
Sighing, Joe played his last card. "Look, Kyle, there's something else I didn't tell you, that none of the original digidestined told the new kids." After a pause, Joe continued. "Look, you know about Diaboromon, right?" At Kyle's nod, Joe went on "Well, shortly after that, Gennai called us back to the digital world, and told us we had to use the powers of our crests to seal off the darkness that was still in the digital world. We did it, but it meant that most of our digimon couldn't digivolve to their ultimate or mega levels ever again.  
  
"So you see, you're not the first to have this happen to. We've all been there."  
  
After a minute, Kyle answered. "Thanks Joe. I'll think about what you said."  
  
"Hey, anytime. Listen, while we're here, how about a tour of the place?"  
  
==  
  
-Digital World, The Emperor's Personal Airdromon-  
  
Ken was still fuming.  
  
Losing MetalGreymon was bad enough, but now that little twit Davis had another digiegg to use. That was almost as bad as Kyle and his little menagerie.  
  
"Master?" Wormmon said, nervously.  
  
"Yes, what?"  
  
"We're taking a little shortcut through the edge of the area Birdramon was reported to be in. We should be at your base in an hour."  
  
Ken started to reply, then stopped. Birdramon, he thought to himself. "Wormmon, change of plan." He said, pulling out a dark spiral. "I need to have a little talk with a certain airborne digimon."  
  
==  
Stone Town, Pokeworld  
  
"And that's the trail to the base of Evolution Mountain."  
  
Joe and Kyle had spent the afternoon going around Stone Town. Kyle explained about the Indigo League, the local Pokemon circuits, where the best places to eat were, the normal stuff one does when showing a friend around the town.  
  
About two hours in, Kyle's D-Term started beeping. "Now what" he wondered out loud. Opening the terminal, he read the incoming message  
  
To:kellison@stpokenet.com  
From:izzy@worldnet.jp.org  
Subject: HELP!!  
  
Ken got Biyomon. Get here NOW!!  
  
"We'd better get going" Joe said.  
  
==  
  
Digiworld, large desert plain. 'nuff said.  
  
"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon's attack streaked at the incoming enemy, but was ignored; no effort was made at blocking or dodging it.  
  
"It's no good Sora" Yolei said, "Halsemon's not strong enough on his own"  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Halsemon said drily.  
  
"We have to keep trying until the others get here!" Sora said. The two digidestined were riding on Halsemon's back, and trying to force the attacking digimon down to an altitude where Davis' and Cody's digimon could attack it.  
  
Down on the ground, Davis and Cody kept sending emails to Kari and TK, who had the only other two flying digimon available. Unfortunately, those two were tied up with a battle of their own; a set of controllled digimon had ambushed the two as they were heading to help.  
  
Ken had planned this well. Halsemon alone wasn't powerful enough to stop Ken's latest victim, and Raidramon and Digmon were not really effective at fighting Ultimate level air opponents.  
  
Tiring of this, the mind controlled digimon turned on Halsemon and his two passengers, and knocked them out of the air with a single wing strike.  
  
"SORA!" The voice was Izzy's; he caught Sora as she fell, riding on the back of Kabuterimon. Yolei was knocked too far for the insect digimon to catch. Yolei figured she had about 5 seconds to either a)hope for a miracle, or b)make peace with her deity of choice.  
  
"PIDGEAWW!!!"  
  
Option A, please, Yolei thought to herself. She could not see the force that grabbed her by the shoulders as she fell, but she could definitely feel the talons (ow), and the very strong blast of wind behind her, slowing their fall.  
  
When she landed, the grip on her shulders released, and Yolei looked to see a small brown and white bird, about four feet long, flying back to Kyle. "Kyle, Izzy! YOu made it!" Kyle, Eevee beside him, and Izzy, who was just getting down from Kabuterimon and helping Sora down, nodded.  
  
Joe ran up, panting a bit. "Don't forget about me!" "Or me" Kabuterimon said. "Guhh...I can't hold it..." Kabuterimon glowed, and returned to his Rookie form of Tentomon.  
  
"You did fine as far as I'm concerned" Sora said. "But we still have to save Biyomon."  
  
Looking at their giant opponnet, Kyle pulle dout his pokedex, and checked the entry. "Garudamon" the pokedex reported, "Vaccine Type Digimon, Ultimate Level. Evolved from Birdramon, this digimon is a powerful flyer, and its Wing Blade attack can devestate almost any opponent."  
  
Running up, Cody and Davis filled them in. "We got here as Ken was leaving. His flying serpent distracted Birdramon, and he got a Dark Spiral on her."  
  
"And he set an ambush for TK and Kari; they're fighting about two miles from here, and they can't help us!" Cody added. Looking behind the group, he called "Look out!" The digidestined instinctively ducked, just in time to avoid getting hit as Garudamon flew right over them. She and Halsemon continued duelling.  
  
Kyle watched the duel for an agonizing, eternal, second. His feelings of helplessness returned; I want to help, but how? he thought to himself. Am I really that useless?  
  
'All of the digidestined felt the way you do, at one time or another' Joe's voice rang in Kyle's mind. 'Sometimes, you feel like there's nothing left, that there's nothing left you can do. But we learned that there's always something more that can be done; you just have to stay loyal to what you believe in, and to your friends.'  
  
He's right, Kyle thought to himself. There has to be something!  
  
"WING BLADE!"  
  
"DUCK!" Joe yelled. The group scattered, as Garudamon's attack slammed into the place where they just were.  
  
"That's it!" Izzy yelled. "What, Izzy? Do you know how to save Biyomon?" SOra asked.  
  
"I think so, but it's extremely risky! When Garudamon powers up her Wing BLade attack, the arm that has the Spiral on it is exposed, but we have to hit it fast!"  
  
I know what to do, Kyle thought. His pokedex started glowing, as did the section of ground that Garudamon's last attack hit. From the center of the crater, a small object glowed in response, and floated towards Kyle!  
  
"It's a digiegg!" Tentomon said. "And it has the crest of Loyalty on it!"   
  
To Kyle's mind, the insignia on the silvery egg looked like the Pokemon League logo, inverted and inside a small diamond. "For...Eevee?" Eevee tilted his head for a moment, as if listening for something. Then, the evolution pokemon hopped up, and tapped one of the pokeballs on Kyle's belt. It opened, revealing Growlithe. "Growl?"  
  
"Vee, Vee, Ooeee! Vee!"  
  
"Growl?" Growlithe looked taken aback by what Eevee was saying, then nodded, almost smiling. Growlithe turned to Kyle, and nodded his head.  
  
"All right...DIGIARMOUR ENERGIZE!!"  
  
[animation sequence: Growlithe fades to a black sillouette, and an image of Arcanine appears behind him. A cocoon of metal forms around Growlithe, then peels back, revealing metallic wings, armored foreclaws, and a Robocop style sensor array over the eyes.]  
  
"Growlithe, armour digivolve to...CyberArcanine, the strength of Loyalty!"  
  
Garudamon and Halsemon stopped their fight, as the light from the digivolution distracted both opponents. Halsemon took the opportunity to land and recover its strength for a minute, while the newly armoured pokemon made the formal introduction.  
  
"I am Cyberarcanine; a fusion armour pokemon. My sensors can pick out an enemy from miles away, and what my Razor Wing cannot cut, I can devestate with my Plasma Buster."  
  
"Kyle, hop on"  
  
"Right. Yolei, we'll distract Garudamon, while Pidgeotto goes in and tries to take out the ring."  
  
"That's your plan?!"  
  
"Unless you got a better one. You ready?"  
  
"You bet" Halsemon said.  
  
"Give the word" Cyberarcanine added.  
  
"GO!"  
  
The two armored monsters, their partners, and Pidgeotto flew up to take on GArudamon. The original digidestined wathced.  
  
"I feel left out when this happens" Izzy said.  
  
"Oh, we have our ways" Joe replied. Sora chuckled, nodding once.  
  
In the air, the two armours quickly set about attacking Garudamon, while Pidgeotto hung back, waiting for an opening. While Garudamon had more power, she now had to deal with two targets, both much smaller and harder to hit. PLus, the two were working in concert, one defending while the other attacked.  
  
"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon's attack had about the same result as last time, impacting on the wing covering the Dark Spiral.  
  
"Razor Wing!" Cyberarcaine flew in close, his metallic wings striking at the area where the dark ring was. While none of the attacks hit the spiral, the desired effect was achieved. Garudamon pulled back..  
  
On the ground, Izzy was monitoring the fight. "She's getting ready!" he yelled.  
  
In the air, Cyberarcanine picked up Izzy's call. "Get ready" he said.  
  
"Why are we doing this again?" Yolei said, still not comfortable with the idea of playing decoy.  
  
"WING-"  
  
"KYLE! NOW!"  
  
"PIDGEOTTO, QUICK ATTACK!"  
  
"PIDGEAWW!!!!" The small bird streaked at incredible speed towards the exposed spiral. She struck it dead on, but the spiral failed to shatter.  
  
"It didn't work!" Kyle said.  
  
"No, it's damaged! Look!" Halsemon said. Dark energy crackled from the damaged spiral. Garudamon writhed in pain, unable to get away.  
  
"TEMPEST WING!"  
  
"PLASMA BUSTER!" The two attacks combined and hit the damaged controller, shattering it. Garudamon glowed, and reverted back, not to Biyomon, but to her in training form of Yocomon!  
  
"Yocomon!" Sora cried.  
  
"Pidgeotto, get her!" Pidgeotto flew down at terrific speed, intercepting the small digimon, and catching Yocomon on her back. Pidgeotto landed in front of Sora, who picked up Yocomon in a firm hug. "Yocomon! I was so worried!" Sora said.  
  
"Ohh, I have such a headace." Yocomon replied woozily.  
  
Smiling, Sora replied "And considering you're all head, it must be one doozy of a headache." As the two talked, Kyle, Yolei, and their monsters landed. Halsemon reverted to his rookie form, but Cyberarcanine waited for a moment. "Kyle."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I never blamed you for what happened. Not for a second."  
  
"Thanks, CyberArcanine." The Armoured pokemon glowed, and reverted back to his basic form of Growlithe. The puppy pokemon barked happily, then leaped into Kyle's arms.  
  
"Thank you, everyone" Sora said.  
  
"We'd better get out of here" Joe said. "Yocomon's going to need a few days to recover." Looking, he noticed Davis looked a little uncomfortable. "What's wrong Davis?"  
  
Davis shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, my sister kinda caught me sneaking out of the house, and..."  
  
"And?" everyone asked in unison.  
  
"And..well..." Davis turned to Kyle. "She sorta made me promise to ask Kyle out for her this saturday..."  
  
"why me?"  
  
Next Ep: With Biyomon still recovering, TK, Cody, and Scizor head to a small town being guarded by Starmon. But, when Starmon is revealed to have been captured by the EMperor, it is up to the digidestined to save the day! Can the digidestined survive a throw up of the Wild West genre? And can Kyle survive a first date with June Motomiya?  
  
All this, a cloud of dust, a flash of smoke, and a hearty "Hi Ho Pegasusmon!" Next, on Digicross TV, episode 04  
"Get along, little Cody!" 


	4. Get Along, Little Cody

Recap (TK voiceover)   
Last time, Kyle was feeling a bit down that Growlithe lost his ability to evolve during the fight against Ken. Joe cheered him up a bit, but what really got him back was finding the digiegg of Loyalty, which let Growlithe digivolve to Cyberarcanine. Good thing too, because Ken slapped one of those Dark Spirals on Birdramon, digivolving her to Garudamon and making her attack us. We got her back, but now we have to keep an eye on the area she was guarding. I hope she gets better soon, 'cause it's a big area. 

==Digital World, Western Town== 

The digimon there all drank silently, not knowing when their 'protectors' would return. Since the arrival of the Control Spire, the guardians of the town, Starmon and Deputymon had gone out to find the construction and destroy it. That had been two days ago. 

"Hey y'all" came a familiar drawl from outside the bar. "We're back, and we gots some news about them happenin's." Deputymon and Starmon entered the bar, all smiles. The digimon there relaxed slightly. Good news, the spire was gone, they could relax. 

"In fact" Starmon added, "I'm so happy, that in two minutes, I'm gonna buy everyone in this bar a drink!" Everyone cheered. 

"Of course," Deputymon said, "In one minute, I'm gonna blast anyone who's still in here, exceptin me and Starmon." The other digimon sat, stunned, not sure how to take this...threat? After five seconds, Starmon and Deputymon removed their cowboy hats, revealing the control rings on their heads, the evil dark rings with glowing red glyphs leaving no doubts what had happened to the two town guardians in the two days they had been gone. 

10 seconds after the two revealed their rings; the other digimon in the bar fled the room. A minute after that, Starmon bopped Deputymon over the head; he had forgotten to exempt the bartender from the threat. Starmon hated getting his own drinks. 

[Opening sequence] 

Digimon: Digicross TV episode 4a (4b follows this)   
"Get along, little Cody!" 

As the two controlled digimon settled into their new roles as lackeys for the Emperor, things looked grim for the townsfolk. Their only two fighters had been taken over, and they were helpless to resist. 

But wait! Out on the plains, leading a sandstorm on a merry chase. 

There!   
  
A crash of hooves, a cloud of dust, a flash of digizoid alloy, and a hearty... 

"Hurry up Pegasusmon! That sandstorm's almost on top of us!" TK's voice was almost lost in the howling winds just behind. TK and Cody had come out of the portal only minutes before the storm had struck, and were now madly racing towards the nearest town. 

"I'm a little jealous of Scizor" Cody said, trying not to swallow too much of the blowing sands. "He gets to ride in a pokeball." 

"Well, unless you want to try getting smushed into a small sphere, you'd better get used to this" Armadillomon said, clinging onto Cody's back. Pegasusmon said nothing; he was just focussed on outrunning the storm. 

"Hey, TK!" Cody said. 

"Yeah?" 

"You think Kyle's gonna be alright? I don't think he's ever been on a date before." 

"Hey, if Matt can survive, Kyle should be OK." 

"Why was he so nervous anyway?" 

TK thought for a minute then replied "Trust me Cody, you'll know all about it when you're older." 

==5 minutes later== 

Having made it to town (5 points if you can guess which one :-), Cody and TK quickly dismounted, and Pegasusmon, worn out by the journey, returned to Patamon. The small group hurried inside the bar... 

...And found it empty. 

"Where is everyone?" TK asked. 

As soon as the words left TK's mouth, several small digimon sprang up from behind the bar. "Cody! TK! You've come to save us!" As the two looked, several Gotsumon leaped over the bar and grabbed the two humans in the digital equivalent of bear hugs. 

"It's the Gotsumon we saved when we were first starting out" Patamon explained to Scizor. "Don't worry, they're friendly!" 

"What happened here?" Cody asked. "Did the Emperor show up?" 

"Did he!" One of the Gotsumon said. "He set up a control spire somewhere, but when Starmon and Deputymon went to look for it, they vanished for three days! And when they came back, they had Dark Rings and were shooting up the place!" "Ya gotta help us" They all started crying. 

"All right, all right, we'll see what we can do." TK said, trying to calm everyone down. "The storm's about calmed down, we'll go find the spire and take it out. Then everyone will be back to normal." 

"Not quite!" a voice from outside called. As the winds outside died down, two figures stepped into the bar. 

"Prepare for trouble"   
"And Make it double, y'all"   
"To enforce the Digimon Emperor's will"   
"And rough up all those who...uh...fight on still"   
"To announce his rule to all above"   
"And make his enemies go on the run!"   
"Starmon"   
"Deputymon"   
"Team Emperor's gonna put out your lights!"   
"Yeah, so give up now or...what's my line?"   
"You Digibrain!!" Starmon whapped Deputymon over the head with his hat, and said "So give up now or we're gonna fight!!"   
[Animation note: EVERYONE else is sweatdropping right now.]   
"Oh yeah, that's right!" The two, finished their speech, turned to face the group. "Looks like we have an unauthorized gathering. You gonna give up, pilgrims?" 

TK and Cody looked at each other. "Cody" TK said quietly, "Patamon can't fight effectively in here. Can you and Scizor get them outside?" Cody nodded, and Scizor grinned. 

"Well, ya got an answer for us?" Deputymon asked impatiently. 

"Yep" Armadillomon said. "BARROOM BRAWL!!" 

"Digiarmour Energize!" 

"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Digmon, the Drill of Power!" 

Digmon quickly fired a Gold Rush at Starmon, knocking him out the door and onto the street. Scizor, enjoying these close up fights much more, backhanded Deputymon with one claw, grabbed him, threw the controlled digimon through the window, and leaped out after him. Digmon and Patamon followed the two out, ready to keep fighting. 

And they would have, if Starmon and Deputymon were still there. Two sets of footprints, each heading in a different direction. Scizor picked one track, and charged off after the fleeing digimon. 

"Scizor, wait!!" Cody yelled as the rest of the group exited the bar. "That guy's as bad as Davis!" he said, frustrated. 

"We'll have to deal with it later. Come on, let's follow the other set of tracks. Hopefully those two won't try and gang up on Scizor. Ready Patamon?" Patamon nodded. "Digiarmour Energize!" 

"Patamon armour digivolve to...Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!" 

== 

Scizor ran down the streets, searching. Deputymon had come this way, and it wanted nothing more than a good fight. Intellectually, he knew that splitting off from the others wouldn't be what Kyle wanted, but that part of him that loved fighting was too strong to resist this challenge. 

There! A faint movement betrayed Deputymon's presence, hiding behind a stack of barrels. "Scizor!!" 

Deputymon walked out from his hiding place. "Ya got me dead to rights, varmint. What say we settle this in a fair fight." Scizor nodded, waiting. "Right then. I'll count to three, then we attack." 

The wind whistled faintly, kicking up clouds of dirt. 

"One" 

A few digimon watched from the windows, too scared to do anything else. 

"Two" 

A sign, hanging off of one nail, rocked back and forth in the breeze, squeaking faintly. 

"Three! JUSTICE GUN!!" Deputymon's special attack fired a huge bolt of power from the gun barrel on his torso. The shot screamed towards Scizor, and exploded. Deputymon watched, confidant that he had finished the attacker. The smoke cleared, but there was no one there! 

"SCIZOR!!" Scizor had leaped a fraction of a second before the blast hit, and was now almost directly overhead. His wings flared out, and he fired a Swift Attack at Deputymon. 

"OW OW OW OW!! Watch where you point those things!" Scizor's attack failed to hit the control ring on Deputymon, though it did manage to hit everything else. Time to finish this Scizor thought. Angling his wings, he flew straight at Deputymon, intent on hitting the ring with a powered up Metal Claw. 

But Scizor had made a critical miscalculation. His wings were not as effective as carrying his evolved form, which threw off his aim slightly, and he caught Deputymon across the oversized gunbarrel, spinning him around and knocking him unconscious. Annoyed, Scizor stood up, intent on just removing the collar. 

"Nice shot." Swinging around, Scizor had time to see Starmon and realize he'd been led into a trap. Starmon's eyes glowed red, and he called out one of his special moves. "Hypnosis!" Scizor blacked out, caught completely off guard. 

As he fell, TK, Cody, and their digimon came into view. "Scizor! No!!" 

"I ain't got time for the likes of you! METEOR SQUALL!!" Starmon raised his hands, and the sky above him seemed to warp. A torrent of meteors flew straight at the digidestined! 

== 

When Cody came to, he was a bit surprised to find he was still alright, and lying down on a bed. 

"I'm glad you're awake" Patamon said. "You've been out for about 10 minutes." 

"What happened?" Cody asked. 

"Well, Starmon fired that attack at us, but some of the digimon pulled us out at the last second. I'm afraid you got hit. Sorry" Armadillomon said. 

"Hey, I'm alright. What about Scizor?" 

TK held up a note. "He left this behind. We're supposed to meet him in one hour and surrender or they're going to turn Scizor over to the Emperor!" 

"Should we call the others?" 

"No. It'd take too long for them to get here. We should get going." Cody got up, and the two digidestined prepared to leave. 

"Hold up." Patamon said. "Your clothes are a mess" Patamon was right, the two humans' clothes were a bit ripped up. One of the Gotsumon, overhearing this, entered the room. "We have some spare clothes that might fit." 

==Five minutes later 

The two digidestined, now changed, got ready to leave. TK was wearing a dark shirt and pants, as well as a brown hat and a duster. Not too bad, he thought. ~A little stubble, and I could pass for Clint Eastwood~. "You coming Cody?" 

"I still feel a little silly." Cody said. He stepped out, wearing dark blue pants, matching shirt, a bandanna tied around his neck, and a white hat. "I feel like I'm at a Halloween party." 

"We'd better get a move on. Come on!" 

==And, shortly after that... 

"Y'think they'll come?" 

"Sure they will. Pass the sauce." As the two digimon waited, they broke out some lunches and began eating. Deputymon passed Starmon a small bottle. Adding some of the contents to his lunch, he said "Hey, this stuff ain't that bad. Where's it from?" 

"Says New York City." 

"NEW YORK CITY??" 

While the two ate, Scizor was tied up to a small post, feet, wings, and claws bound together. Mentally, he was kicking himself for walking into such an obvious trap. ~I hope Kyle doesn't get too mad at me; heck, I hope I see Kyle again!~ 

"Hold it right there!" a voice called out. The two digimon were stunned to see a small boy on the back of an armoured Horse. "It's the Lone Digimon!" Deputymon cried. 

"I'm not alone!" Cody said, hopping down from Pegasusmon's back and assuming a gunfighter stance. Armadillomon hopped down as well, and stood beside him. "Now throw down your control rings and put your hands up!" 

Starmon and Deputymon stared back at Cody, daring him to make the first move. Cody moved, drawing his digivice out. "Digiarmour Energize!" 

"Armadillomon armour digivolve to...Digmon, the Drill of Power!" 

The two controlled digimon launched their attacks. "Justice Gun!" "Meteor Squall!" 

Cody and Digmon leaped to the left, while Pegasusmon took to the air. "Star Shower!" A hail of stars rained down on the two attackers. Digmon added his attack in. "Rock Cracking!" A rip in the earth shot towards the two digimon, knocking them over. 

While they battled, TK crept behind them and set about freeing Scizor. "Scizor, you alright?" Scizor nodded, still a little steamed. "I'll set you free, then you have to help the others, got it?" Another nod. TK pulled out a small pocket knife, and cut Scizor loose. 

"Equis Beam!" The Green blast of energy knocked Starmon and Deputymon back towards the place where Scizor was tied up. "We can take these varmints" Deputymon said. "Yeah" Starmon replied, "Let's show 'em what for." 

"Scizor" 

Looking behind them, the two saw that Scizor was neither tied up or unable to fight. The crackling energy around his claws made that very clear.   
  
CRACK!! The two digimon fell to the ground. They wasted no time surrendering to the digidestined before they could resume fighting. 

"Now, where's the control spire?" Digmon asked, covering the two digimon. 

"We ain't never tellin'!" Starmon snarled. Scizor and Pegasusmon exchanged a glance, then took a step towards the two controlled digimon. "On second thought, it's under the abandoned water tower just west of the town! Just please keep that loco horse away from us! And the big red bug!" 

"Oh calm down!" Digmon snapped. "Just let me get those control rings off of you." Removing the rings was a simple affair; Starmon and Deputymon didn't put up any resistance as the rings were removed. 

"Whu'happened?" Deputymon asked, dazed. 

"Spire. Location" Pegasusmon said flatly. 

"Right, follow us" Starmon answered. The group headed to a location near town, where an abandoned water tower stood. "When we were captured, we were ordered to build a water tower over the spire so it couldn't be discovered as easily. The emperor figured you'd be so busy trying to tear the town apart, you'd never think to look here for it." 

"I gotta admit, this is pretty clever." TK observed. "I don't think we would have found this place without help." 

Cody looked at the spire. "The only thing I'll admit to is the need to get rid of that thing. Digmon?" 

"I agree wholeheartedly. Rock Cracking!" Drilling into the ground, Digmon's attack sent a fissure straight at the ramshackle construct. There was a splintering of wood, and the fake water tower fell, leaving the black Control Spire. 

"My turn!" Pegasusmon said, flying up. "Star Shower!" A wave of stars hit the base of the spire, carving a big gouge out of it. "Next?" 

Scizor got ready to attack. "Hold up!" Starmon said. "We caused this mess, we'd like to be in on fixin' it up." 

"That goes double for me, pardner." Deputymon added. Scizor nodded, and the three got ready to fire their attacks. 

"Meteor Squall!" 

"Justice Gun!" 

"Scizor!!" Scizor's Swift attack, combined with the attacks of the other two digimon, vaporized the entire column. Starmon's "YEEEEE-HAW!!" summed up the mood of the group at that point. 

== 

"You sure you have to go?" 

"Yeah. We have to get back to our world. Hopefully, the emperor won't show up here again." Cody said to Starmon. 

"Well, alright. Y'all come back now, y'hear?" 

"We will! You ready to go Scizor?" 

Scizor grinned, and nodded. "See ya around buggy!" Deputymon said. "Next time, how about a game of canasta? I'll let you cut." Everyone sweatdropped at that. 

"Scizor, return!" Cody held out Scizor's pokeball, and the bug pokemon vanished in a flash of red light. They mounted up on Pegasusmon's back, and rode off into the sunset. 

As they left, one of the Gotsumon approached Starmon. "Uh, sir?" 

"Yeah, what?" 

"Umm...we were wondering, who was that masked digimon?" 

== 

Epilogue: 

The portal in the school computer room glowed, and TK and Cody rematerialized in the Human world (As opposed to the Pokeworld, which was how they referred to Kyle's world). Izzy was there to meet them, as were Yolei and Kari. 

"We're back. Hey, where's Davis?" TK asked. 

"He's at home, he kinda blew a fuse" Izzy said. 

"Blew a fuse?" Yolei said, nearly laughing. I think he almost had a heart attack." 

"Kyle's first date go well?" TK asked, smirking. 

"Looks like. She asked him out again" Kari replied, grinning. 

Cody seemed surprised. "You're kidding." 

"Why? You got designs on June?" Kari teased. 

Blushing furiously, Cody relied "No! Kyle just doesn't seem like June's type, that's all." 

"Just so I know" TK asked, "Did Davis blow before or after Kyle said yes?" 

"After" Kyle said, entering the lab. He looked completely embarrassed, as well as a little confused. "I take it..." 

"We all know" Yolei said. 

Cody handed Kyle Scizor's pokeball. "He's a good pokemon. Thanks for letting us borrow him." 

"Um...anytime...I have tobegoingnowthingstododigiportal2open..." The screen glowed, and Kyle vanished. 

"I wish I'd gone with him" Izzy said. 

"Why?" Kari asked. 

Grinning, Izzy responded "because I just emailed his dad what Yolei told me." Then he broke up laughing. 

"You are EVIL!" TK said, and the rest of the digidestined in the lab started laughing. 

Next ep: 

Ken starts his latest plan to take over the digital world, using the data on pokemon and digimon he's gathered to date. Meanwhile, Arukenimon has Sneasle battle a rampaging Tyranitar, intent on adding the Dark type pokemon to her arsenal. Why is Arukenimon catching dark type pokemon? Next on Digimon: Digicross TV:   
"Gathering of powers" 

Also, keep an eye out for Kyle's first date ever, as well as why June has become so interested in the pokemon trainer. Where will they go? What will they do? Can Kyle convince June that he's NOT an extradimensional visitor, and that meeting his dad isn't really an option? The first Digimon: Digicross Side Story:   
"Kyle's first date!"   



	5. Gathering of Power

Digicross TV episode 5 

=Pokemon World, several miles from Azalea Town== 

The town had been evacuated when word was first heard of his approach. Since then, several trainers had appeared to challenge him, but none had succeeded. 

As Tyranitar looked over the area it had wrecked, he reveled in the chaos he was causing. It had only been a few weeks since he had evolved from Pupitar, and being able to show off his power after all that time was an almost intoxicating experience. So it was with some annoyance that it regarded the latest newcomer, who merely stood there, red sleeveless overcoat and mane of white hair under a wide brimmed hat rippling in the soft breeze. 

What do you want, human?> Tyranitar roared. To his surprise, she responded in his own tongue. 

I wish to make you an offer. You can serve me willingly, or you can serve me unwillingly> 

I choose neither!> 

The woman seemed unruffled by Tyranitar's rejection. Instead, she snapped her fingers. A small creature, catlike but walking on its back legs, all black fur and completely unworried at the sight of the monster in front of it. Switching back to English, the woman said "Sneasle, do it." The catlike pokemon replied "Yes, my mistress" and went into an attack stance. Tyranitar looked with some amusement at the small creature thinking it could even try to fight him. Sneasle let out a shrill cry as she charged, claws extended. 

[op sequence] 

Digimon Digicross TV episode 5   
"Gathering of Power"   


Tyranitar staggered back. This creature was unnaturally powerful for a Basic pokemon. Why wasn't he winning? 

~Time to settle this~ Tyranitar reared back, and used his strongest attack, Hyper Beam. The power built up, and was released in a single, coherent pulse of golden light. The land around Sneasle buckled, tore, and was vaporized by the sheer power of the attack. When the dust cleared, Sneasle was not there any more, though her trainer seemed unconcerned.   
  
The next few minutes could never be accurately recalled by the armor pokemon. From nowhere, a mass of black fur and fire was on him, clawing and scratching, its attacks penetrating Tyranitar's tough skin as if it were paper. The giant pokemon collapsed, knocked out. 

As Arukenimon watched, the black furred attacked approached her, lowered its head, and glowed white, shrank, and returned to its original form. 

"Nicely done Sneasle" Arukenimon said. "This will complement my army quite nicely." 

Sneasle bowed, one clawed arm across her chest. Smirking Arukenimon added "cut the melodrama. You enjoyed the thrashing you gave to that arrogant creature." Idly, Arukenimon pulled out a single strand of hair, and threw it at the fallen Tyranitar. When it hit, there was a flash of crimson light, and where the fallen pokemon was, there lay a small red and black sphere, a parody of a pokeball. "Looks like I caught Tyranitar." 

Sneasle returned the grin. "I only sought to test the abilities you gave me in combat, milady." The two vanished back into the forest, leaving the pokemon trainers en route to the area to figure out what happened to such a powerful beast. 

==Main base of the Digimon Emperor,11:54pm== 

Since abandoning his life in the Human world, Ken had since set up a room for himself inside his base. It was near the main control room, and was (in his mind, anyway) appointed the way a ruler should have a bedroom; large bed, several bookcases, and a lockable door. No one else was allowed in, for any reason. Not even Wormmon. 

Despite this, Wormmon stayed outside Ken's door, on the off chance he might be allowed to help Ken with something. Anything. He felt himself dozing off, an old dream returning...when he met a young boy who had just appeared out of a portal... 

"Who are you?" the boy asked. 

"Hello Ken, I'm Wormmon. I'm your partner..." 

Wormmon was startled by a sudden scrape, coming from the main control room. Giving one last look at the locked door, he went to investigate. 

== 

Ken was dreaming too, but this dream was far less pleasant, and becoming far more frequent. 

"I HATE you Sam! I...I...I wish you'd GO AWAY!!"   
  
The accident. He did it. He'd lost control 

The funeral. All his fault. Still not enough control. 

The offer. All the control he'd ever want, and an escape from the world of pain. 

Now new opponents. He was losing control again... 

== 

Wormmon entered the control area, and saw a familiar figure there. "What are YOU doing here?" 

Arukenimon slowly faced Wormmon. "Why, if it isn't the little digimon that couldn't. I'd think you were almost unhappy to see me again." 

"It's never a pleasure to see you again. Haven't you done enough to him?" 

"What I do to him is none of your concern" She noticed Wormmon getting ready to attack. "Please. A Sticky Web attack against me? Don't make me laugh. And you know what will happen to your precious Ken if you interfere with us." With that, she returned to the console, and called up the data Ken had collected so far. Wormmon, powerless to do anything, fumed but said nothing. 

"Hmm...looks like you're going to be downsized. A pity, even Digimon get Dilbertized, I suppose. And their Emperors, eventually. This ought to help things a bit." Arukenimon produced a small black and red sphere, and connected it to the console. A new screen replaced the screen, which had plans for Ken's 'new' digimon. 

C:\req init DNAXmit   
-auth:**********   
c:\accepted...uploading helix.inf   
c:\Kymeramon.exe updated...erasing change log... 

The screen closed, and was replaced by the display that was there before Arukenimon had modified Ken's research slightly. Retrieving the ball, she stepped back, turned to look down at Wormmon, and said "Good night, and pleasant dreams." With that, she walked out the door, and vanished. Had Wormmon been paying attention, he might have noticed a small piece of the shadows break off and follow Arukenimon. 

As Arukenimon left, the shadow addressed her. "Is this wise, mistress?" 

Slightly annoyed, Arukenimon looked at her companion. "You doubt my judgement, Sneasle?" 

"It is not that, never. I doubt that human's ability to handle such power. He is...unbalanced. It may destroy him before he can accomplish what you have set before him." 

"No matter. If he falls, there are others who can take his place." 

== 

The next morning, Ken woke up, ate alone, and went back to work. Any evidence that Arukenimon was there was not to be found; the fact that anyone could have entered his base without knowing was unacceptable to him. 

He heard Wormmon enter. "Did you sleep well, Master?" 

Ken stopped for a second, and, slowly, said "Never. Ask. That. AGAIN!" 

"I'm sorry, Master!" If Ken had heard him, he gave no indication; he had gone back to work. If he worked hard enough, he could forget the dreams, for a time. 

==2 hours later. 

Ken walked towards the flight deck of his base, where several of the Mechanorimon were kept on standby for him. Wormmon followed along. "Master, where are you going?" 

"Data collection." He said simply, climbing into one of the robots. Wormmon followed him in, squeezing himself behind the pilot's chair. The two took off, and traveled in silence. After a time, they landed. Hopping out, Wormmon recognized the place almost immediately. "Isn't this Primary Village?" 

"Yes. I need something from this place." The two traveled in silence, down the deserted streets of the town. 

"It's seen better days" Wormmon said, hoping to break up the silence. No response. 

"K..Master, there's no one here anymore. Why did you come here?" 

"I need data on a specific digimon, and this is the best place to find it. Here." He indicated a bleak field, where dozens of slight impressions could be found. "Where the data was reformatted and recompiled" 

"You mean where the new Digimon were born?" Ken stiffened for a second. "If that's how you want to see it, fine. I have no time for sentimentality." Ken pulled out a small scanner, and began searching the area. He walked ahead several yards, turned right, and knelt down. "This one, where a Pabumon was born. Perfect." 

"What good will that do?" 

"I can use the residual data from when this Pabumon was first compiled to clone it and add it into Kymeramon's data." 

"Pabumon...isn't he Kabuterimon's infant form?" 

Ken snorted. "I'm surprised you can keep that much straight. Come on, we're leaving." 

As the two left, neither of them noticed an Elecmon hiding in one of the abandoned houses. ~I don't dare attack them now~ he thought to himself. ~If I do, they might find where I hid the eggs!~ He had overheard some of what the two had discussed; a lifetime guarding Primary Village had given him an intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of the place. He could sneak around and never be caught here. ~All those games of hide and seek with the Infants and In-Trainings finally came in handy~ he thought grimly. Once the two had left, Elecmon rushed to find one of those portal devices he'd been told about. 

The digidestined had to know. 

== 

Back at The Emperor's lair, Ken downloaded the data from the scanner and began the final creation process. ~When Kymeramon's done, I will be able to control all of this~. There was nothing left to do but lean back and wait for the final creation to be completed. He leaned back, and dozed off. And remembered... 

== 

"Ken, there you are!" Wormmon said, crawling to where Ken was standing. "I heard about your brother, I'm sorry..." 

"Forget it." Ken said sharply. "We have work to do." 

"Ken?" But Ken gave no sign, he simply turned and walked away from the beach. "Ken, where are you going?" 

Ken turned, and looked at Wormmon. "My brother is dead. You said you'd always be there for me, so WHERE. WERE. YOU!!?" 

Wormmon stopped cold. "I...I..." 

"Digivolve." 

"What?" 

"You heard me. DIGIVOLVE!" 

Wormmon tried to digivolve, but he couldn't. "I can't" he said in a small voice. Then he noticed Ken's digivice. "What happened to your digivice? It's all black now." 

Ken smiled, a twisted sight, devoid of any kindness. "What happened? A beginning. If I can't control the real world, then I'll control this world, and make it as *I* see fit." Ken walked further on, not stopping, driven by some unidentifiable force to a specific location.   
  
After about an hour of walking, Ken came upon a large stone structure. Definitely old, it radiated a kind of power that Wormmon had never felt before. "Ken, I don't like this place. There's something evil here. Can't you feel it?" 

"Feel it? I want it." Ken proceeded inside. He walked as if he knew exactly where he was going. Wormmon followed Ken through a series of twists and turns, getting lost after only a few minutes. They soon came to a large open area, with a small room suspended at the center, with catwalks going from the walls to the small room. Ken wasted no time in going inside. 

In the small room, Ken found a black object, giving the impression of a sealed away power. That was when a voice spoke to him. 

"Ken, you have found this place to escape from the pain of the real world. From here, you can use the power to exercise your dominion over this world. You can be an emperor, if you so desire. The facilities here will respond to your commands. With it, you will be unstoppable. In the main database, you will find plans to expand the power of your Black Digivice, so no Digimon can stop you." With that, Ken felt a strange clarity of mind hit him. All his grief and sorrow were banished, replaced by a simple desire. Power, complete and utter. His young face twisted as the knowledge began to feed into his mind. He would rule. It would take time to master all the equipment and data here, but he would rule. 

== 

Unknown to Ken, when he found the power source for his base, Wormmon had a visit too. 

"Ken, don't go in there!" Wormmon started to rush forward to pull Ken out; he realized just where Ken was going, and what the change of his digivice meant. However, before he could even get near, the door to the small chamber Ken was in slammed shut. The sound of footsteps echoed behind him. 

Turning to face the noise, Wormmon saw a humanoid woman with long white hair and dressed in a sleeveless red trenchcoat and hat. The newcomer looked at Wormmon, grinning evilly. 

"Who are you? What have you done to him??" 

The newcomer shrugged. "Me? I haven't done anything except open his mind." 

"I don't know who you are, but I'll stop you!" 

"You? You can't even digivolve. Now listen up. My employer has taken an interest in the boy, and he would appreciate it if you would not interfere with the path Ken is taking." 

"I don't care. You'll have to destroy me." 

The woman laughed quietly. "I won't have to lift a finger. Act against us, and your precious Ken will...well, let's just say he'll join his brother." Wormmon didn't know how to reply. "Be good, and we'll even allow you to stay with him. But remember, don't act against us. Don't even mention what you've seen here, or your 'friend' gets it." 

There was nothing else Wormmon could do. "Alright." 

"Glad we could do business" The woman stepped back, and faded from view. At that moment, the door to the chamber opened, and Ken walked out. "Wormmon, we have work to do." 

"Yes K..Master." 

Smirking, Ken looked down at Wormmon. "That's better." 

== 

As the years passed, Ken gradually began to master all the systems of the base, as well as unlock many of the secrets of his altered digivice. Then, one day... 

===   
  
Image is everything, Ken thought to himself. After all, an emperor should look the part. 

As Ken walked out of his room in his base, Wormmon was waiting to see what Ken had been up to this time. "Is that a new look, master?" 

"It is the only look that the Digital World will ever need to see." Ken had discarded his old clothing for what would soon come to be recognized as the outfit of the Digimon Emperor. Spike hairdo, opaque goggles, blue and gray bodysuit and cape, and a cruel, metal tipped whip at his side. And the beauty was that he didn't have to waste time changing; it would appear and disappear as he entered and left the Digital World. He walked to the control room. The program to create the first control spires was ready and waiting his command. 

Ken paused for a moment. The rush of potential power, of the control he knew he would soon assume, almost made him laugh aloud. He could never get tired of this feeling. He paid no attention to Wormmon, who was on the edge of tears now, watching his friend fall into the abyss. There was only the gathering of power. 

"Execute." 

== 

Ken snapped out of his half-asleep state, fragments of a half remembered dream already fading from his mind. A look at the computer screen showed the process was still underway. 

"Project Kymeramon completion 2%"   
"Est. Time to completion 3 weeks, 12hrs" 

Patience. He could wait. After all, he was still in control. 

End, for now.   



	6. Plans of Attack

Plans of attack. Note: This takes place alongside 'Samurai of Sincerity'. 

To: Mimi_Tachikawa@aol.com   
From: izzy@worldnet.jp.org   
Subject: Hey, guess what?   
Mimi,   
Just wanted to let you know that there's a   
portal open in America. If you wanted to come   
visit, feel free to. But make it soon, I don't know   
how long the portal will stay open.   
Izzy 

PS: Don't worry if it closes while you're here,   
we can open the way back home :-) 

PPS: AOL? Are you out of your mind??? 

PPPS: Did you get the .GIF I sent? 

To:izzy@worldnet.jp.org   
From:Mimi_Tachikawa@aol.com   
Subject: Re: Hey, guess what? 

Izzy,   
Cool!!! I'll be over ASAP, is it all right   
if I bring a friend? I think he wants to meet   
Yolei ;-) And I want to see what all the fuss   
over this new guy is (and his Eevee is so cute!).   
Mimi 

PS: It's not my fault, Dad signed us up. At   
least we have a good supply of coasters now... 

Digimon: Digicross TV episode 6   
"Plans of attack"   
-Dedicated to:   
-everyone on the DigifansAnon Mailing list, for telling me to:   
a)post this to Fanfiction.net, and   
b)Try using a spellchecker for once   
-Everyone who said Nice Things once I did post this series up, especially all the other authors, and   
-To Crystal Melin, for letting me borrow her name. 

==Pokeworld, Stone Town gym== 

Kyle faced his opponent, a young girl from up north, near Cerulean City. She had arrived in town last night, and had asked for a match against someone from the gym run by the famous 'Eevee Brothers'. Unfortunately, Pyro, Zap, and Mikey were out of town, and Rayner's Vaporeon was down with the vapors, so Kyle had volunteered to defend the gym's honor. 

Rayner sat at the announce table. "Introducing the challenger, Crystal Melin, from Cerulean County. And, the home champion, representing the long and honorable traditions of the Stone Town Gym, Kyle Ellison." At Kyle's less that amused look, Rayner continued "No pressure, Kyle." chuckles from the crowd. 

"This will be a one on one match with no time limit, conducted according to official Indigo League rules" Rayner, sitting at the announce desk, said through the speaker. A few residents from the town were sitting in some bleachers behind Rayner, watching as Kyle and Crystal stood at opposite ends of what looked like an indoor soccer field. 

"I'll call...Growlithe!" Kyle released the fire type pokemon. 

"Now you'll see why I wanted to battle the famous Eevee brothers...Kurt, I choose you!!" Out of Crystal's pokeball appeared a beautiful pokemon, about 3 feet long, covered with a fine, light purple fur. The creature looked up, intelligence sparkling in its large black and white eyes, and said "Espeon." 

"That's a really nice looking Espeon!" Kyle called across the field. 

"Thanks" Crystal replied "It evolved not too long after I received it. Now, are you ready to quit?" 

Grinning, Kyle replied with an opening attack. "Growlithe, Take Down attack!" Obediently, Growlithe charged at Espeon, hoping to finish the fight quickly. The agile pokemon dodged, however, and the two spent the next few seconds circling. 

"Kurt! Swift attack!" Crystal's pokemon fired a flurry of star shaped missiles at Growlithe, which drove the puppy pokemon back. Kyle called out a counter move; rearing back, Growlithe launched a wave of fire at Espeon. It stood still, unconcerned by the incoming attack- 

Which was suddenly diverted by an invisible barrier. "What do you think of Kurt's Reflect?" 

"I think he still took some damage! Growlithe, Flame Wheel!" Launching another attack, Growlithe fired a ring shaped blast of flame at Espeon. Best move to date, Growlithe thought to himself. 

"Now, Kurt!" Espeon seemed to shimmer for a second, then vanished! Growlithe's attack impacted harmlessly on one of the ring barricades. Espeon appeared behind Growlithe. Continuing the combo attack he and Crystal had devised, the small red mark on Espeon's forehead began to glow. As Growlithe turned to face Espeon, the solar pokemon lived up to its title and let off a Flash attack. Blinded, Growlithe staggered back. 

"Time for part three!" Crystal called out. "Finish it with Psywave!" Espeon finished the sequence, firing a ring of psychokinetic energy at Growlithe. The attack hit Growlithe, drove him back a few feet, and Growlithe collapsed from the psychic attack. Kyle ran over to check. He looked at Rayner, shaking his head. "Growlithe is unable to battle. Winner is Crystal Melin and her Espeon, Kurt!" Growlithe, shaking off his unconsciousness, gave a little disappointed whimper. "Don't worry, we'll get 'em next time." 

== 

As Kyle walked over to the Pokemon center with Growlithe (who insisted on walking), Crystal and Rayner caught up with him. 

"Hey, that was a great match" Crystal said. "Yeah" Rayner added. "Growlithe's gotten a lot stronger, I can tell." 

"Thanks!" Growlithe barked, some of his dignity restored. 

"Hey, Kyle!" 

"Izzy! Kari! What are you doing here?" 

"We saw the match; sorry you lost." Izzy said. 

"It happens; psychic types are pretty tough to battle against. Tough to train too." Kyle said, looking at Crystal. 

Crystal blushed a bit. Kari couldn't resist the opening. "I don't know Kyle. What will June think, you flirting with another girl?" 

Kyle blushed crimson. "Oh? Who's June?" Crystal asked impishly. "So THAT'S the girl your father's been talking about" Rayner said, joining in the fun. 

"Rayner! It's not like that!!" Kyle sputtered. 

==Pokemon Center== 

"Growlithe will have to rest for a day, but he'll be fine." Nurse Joy said, taking Growlithe in. 

"Thanks" Kyle replied. "See ya in a few, boy!" Growlithe barked as the group left. Rayner wanted to talk to Crystal a bit more, and offer her a place at the gym. "So, what brings you here?" 

"Well," Izzy said, "the other digidestined are looking for the other digieggs, but Kari and I are looking for a spire." 

"Huh?" 

"I need to check a theory. I think Ken made the same mistake I did when I first came to the digital world. You see back then, I thought that it was a visual and physical-" 

Kari elbowed Izzy. "What did Tai tell you about speaking in techie?" 

Izzy facefaulted. "Heh, sorry. Anyway, I think Ken believes that the Digital World is just a big computer program, and that the Digimon are just individual programs given physical form. Must have played too much Cyberpunk or something." 

"Cyberpunk?" 

"Later. You coming?" Kari asked. "We're headed over to Togemon's area, Ken's forces aren't as strong there." 

"Yeah, sure, just let me get someone to fill in for Growlithe." 

==Digital World== 

"That's it, bring it on!" Togemon said, daring the last few attackers to move forward. She was exhausted, but she could take these two, she was sure. She recognized the pair of Monochromon, but the flaming black...tiger? panther? ... was new. 

The leader spoke. "Give up lady, you can't beat all three of us! You're outnumbered!" 

"Electro Shocker!" 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

The two attacks impacted near the three Digimon. "We're coming, Togemon" Nefertimon's voice carried over the explosions. 

The lead attacker looked up. "It's still one on one!" she snarled. 

"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!" A hail of razor sharp leaves flew at the black lynx, driving her back. 

"You..." she stopped, as if listening. "I'll deal with you later. You two, take care of them!" The two Monochromon advanced, while the leader fled, vanishing into the forest. Kyle tried to pursue the unknown Digimon, but was cut off by one of the Monochromon. 

"Blaze Blaster!" 

"NEEDLE SPRAY!" A hail of sharp needles pelted the Monochromon. It turned to face Togemon, exposing the control ring to Kyle. 

"Ivysaur, hit the ring with Razor Leaf!" Ivysaur's attack hit the ring, causing several cracks to appear. "Now, finish it with Vine Whip!" The four vines streaked out, impacting on, and destroying, the ring. 

The other Monochromon faced against Kabuterimon and Nefertimon. Nefertimon distracted it with a Rosetta Stone, while Kabuterimon hit the ring with another Electro Shocker. 

Togemon glowed, and reverted to Palmon. "That was close, thanks!" The other Digimon also went back to their regular forms. 

"Palmon, what happened here?" Kari asked. 

"I was checking some rumors that the Emperor was building up some troops here, when those Monochromon jumped me." 

"And that other Digimon?" Izzy asked. 

"Never seen her before." Palmon then noticed Kyle and Ivysaur. "You must be the new guy; thanks." Then, to Ivysaur: "You too, good looking" she said with a wink. 

"Saur?" Kari, Izzy, and Kyle did their best not to laugh. 

== 

"And that's the plan" Izzy recapped to Palmon his idea; crack the secrets of the spire, and hope they could finish the battle much more quickly. 

"Best idea I've heard of in a while" Palmon said. "It's better than waiting for the next attack." 

"Hi there!" a voice called from the woods. 

Looking in the direction of the sound, the digidestined saw two more humans emerge from the undergrowth, one male, the other female with startlingly pink hair. 

"Mimi!" Palmon grabbed Mimi in an embrace. It had been a while since the two friends had seen each other. 

"Mimi!" Kari said. "How'd you get here?" 

"Thank Izzy. He said that a portal was opening in America, and Michael and I used it to come here. Oh, everyone, this is Michael. He's a digidestined too!" 

"Huh?!?" 

Michael spoke up. "It's true" he said, showing his digivice. "I met Mimi in New York. I noticed she had a digivice like mine, and when she saw Betamon" he indicated the small creature who stood beside him, "she realized what I was. Good thing, as I had no idea what was going on." 

"You must be Kyle" Mimi said. "I'm Mimi, nice to meet you." 

"A pleasure. Oh, this is Ivysaur." Ivysaur answered with a "Ivysaur!" 

"Hands off" Palmon said playfully. "He's mine!" Ivysaur blushed. 

"Heh" Kyle said. "You look like-" 

"-You do when someone mentions June" Kari cut in. 

"You mean Davis' sister?" Mimi asked incredulously. At Izzy and Kari's nod, Mimi laughed quietly. 

"The others aren't too far away" Izzy said. "If you hurry, you might be able to catch up to them. They should be surprised to see the two of you." 

"Is it alright if Kyle comes along?" Palmon asked. 

"You just want him for his Ivysaur" Mimi replied, smirking. 

"Saur?" 

"Well, you coming?" Michael asked. 

"I don't know. If that Digimon shows up again..." Kyle started. 

"No worries" Gatomon said. "I can handle that overgrown kitty cat." 

"Yep" Tentomon said. "She wrote the book on catfighting." 

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that" Gatomon replied flatly. 

== 

After everyone else left, Izzy and Kari set about cracking the mysteries of the control spire. "So, what do we do first?" Kari asked. 

"Shouldn't be too hard, if I'm right" Izzy said. He pulled out a connecting cable, attached one end to his laptop, and pressed the other end to the spire. The black surface seemed to ripple, then accepted the wire. "Good. Now all we do is kick back and wait for my computer to download the source code for the spire." 

"Is the drive big enough?" 

"It better be; I cleaned out everything else on it, compressed the drive, used every trick I could think of. It should take about an hour and a half to finish scanning" Izzy said, checking the laptop programming. "Hope you brought something to read." 

"That's OK" Kari said, pulling out a CD player. Grinning, she added "all my trips to the Digital World should be like this." 

== 

"It's Gorillamon!" Michael said, as the digidestined rushed out of the diner. 

"On it!" Kyle said. "You ready Ivysaur?" At the Seed Pokemon's nod, Kyle pulled out a second pokeball. "Dewgong, go!" A large white pokemon appeared, diving into the lake. 

"Wait for me!" Betamon said, as Michael pulled out his digivice. "Betamon, digivolve to...Seadramon!" Seadramon also dove into the lake, surfacing alongside Dewgong, daring the controlled Digimon to approach.   


Instead, Gorillamon launched a bolt from his gun-arm, only to have it intercepted by Digitamamon, who had run out of the diner and leaped into the path of the oncoming bolt. 

"Dewgong! Use your Ice Beam! Aim low!" Dewgong fired a beam of white energy at the ground around and in front of Gorillamon, creating a large patch of ice. Catching on, Seadramon fired his own attack, aimed at Gorillamon. 

"Ice Winder!" The bolt of ice flew at Gorillamon, causing him to duck. However, he slipped on the ice patch, and slid into the lake. The two waterborne creatures moved in, sensing the big ape's disadvantage in the water. 

The rest of the digidestined watched as the water roiled and bubbled, the only indications of the fight underneath. Then, Gorillamon, a large wedge of ice jammed in his gun arm, came flying out of the water. Dewgong's spiked head surfaced a second later, giving everyone a fair idea of what drove Gorillamon out. It hit the ground, and staggered to get up. 

"Ivysaur, slow it down with Sweet Scent!" Ivysaur launched a cloud of sweet smelling pollen at the attacking Digimon, disorienting it. 

"My turn!" Togemon called. "LIGHTSPEED JABBING!" The hail of blows shattered the spiral on Gorillamon's arm. It also KO'd the beast six ways from Sunday. 

Togemon and Seadramon returned to their rookie forms, while Dewgong crawled out of the water. "Good work Dewgong. Return and have a rest." Dewgong vanished in a haze of red energy, back into the pokeball. 

"Not too shabby" Davis said. 

"I don't think Palmon would argue" TK said, pointing. Ivysaur's face was red; Davis had missed what Palmon said, but Ivysaur's expression gave a good idea. 

== 

"Say, Kari..." Izzy started. 

"Yeah?" 

"umm...What CD is that? I though I recognized one of the songs." 

Kari looked at the player. "Oh, it's one Tai got me for my birthday. Yoko Kanno." 

"Really? I love her work." 

Kari arched an eyebrow. "Really?" 

"Yeah. Hey, you know about the performance she's giving next week?" 

"I heard about it, but I can't go. Even if I could afford a ticket, they've already sold out, and no-one's free to go with me." 

"Well...I have a pair of tickets." 

"You do!?" 

Izzy looked down, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I kinda won them on the net.." Figures, Kari thought to herself, smiling. "And..well, I'd hate to go alone, that is, if you don't mind going with a geek like me and..." 

"Yes, I'll go." 

"And...you will?" 

"Yes" Kari answered, trying not to blush. 

"YES!...I'm mean, I'm glad...ah, that is..." 

== 

"Well," Tentomon said, "he finally did it." 

Gatomon sighed, and replied "About time. Now Gabumon owes me a new scratching post. I knew Izzy'd crack first." 

"Just one question, Gatomon." 

"Yeah?" 

"What do we tell Davis?" 

== 

~Mistress,~ the small, catlike creature sent, as she observed the two digidestined, ~they are alone. That 'Trainer' is nowhere in sight.~ 

~What are they up to?~ came the response. 

~The male has connected a computer to one of the control spires; for what, I cannot say.~ 

~Get rid of them. If they uncover the true purpose of the spires, they may undo everything we've worked towards.~ 

~As you command.~ 

~If Kyle shows up, leave. If you are recognized, they might figure out what's going on!~ 

~Understood.~ 

The creature closed the psychic rapport with her mistress, and concentrated. On her right forearm, a small strand of silver glowed softly, then her form seemed to shift and grow larger... 

== 

"Say, Izzy..." 

"Yes?" 

"About the concert...what do we tell Davis?" 

Izzy was about to reply, when a mass of flame covered black fur erupted from the undergrowth, charging right at the two digidestined. "Thermal Mane!" it shouted. 

"KARI! LOOK OUT!" Izzy yelled, knocking the younger digidestined to one side. The blast of fire passed through the space where Kari sat only a second before. 

"Super Shocker!" A bolt of lighting forced the attacker to back up. 

"LIGHTNING PAW!" Gatomon's attack caught the attacker on her blind side. "I don't know who you are, but no one attacks my friends and gets away with it!" 

"Digi-armour energize!" 

"Gatomon, armor digivolve to...Nefertimon, the angel of light!" 

As the armor Digimon finished transforming, the attacker decided to introduce herself. "Well then, 'angel', I am Lynxmon. Watch out, or my Wild Nail Rush will cut you to shreds, like so!" Lynxmon charged at Nefertimon, claws extended. Nefertimon dodged the attack, and took to the air. 

"Fight like a cat, you wimp! THERMAL MANE!" The fire attack shot right at the armored Digimon, engulfing it. Satisfied at her handiwork, Lynxmon turned to face Tentomon and the two humans. "Now, to take care of OOF!" Nefertimon, only slightly scorched from the attack, tackled Lynxmon, knocking the Digimon over. 

"There IS a reason we're called 'armor' Digimon, dear" Nefertimon said sweetly, holding one forepaw to Lynxmon's throat. The pinned Digimon tried to struggle, earning it a paw swipe from Nefertimon. "That was almost-" 

WHAP! Nefertimon had relaxed too soon, and Lynxmon, pretending to have passed out, caught Nefertimon with a viscous claw swipe. "My turn!" Lynxmon said eagerly. "FURY CUTTER!" The series of claw strikes hit Nefertimon, each connecting shot more damaging than the last. Finally, the attacks overwhelmed the Digimon, and Nefertimon glowed, then reverted back to Gatomon, now barely conscious. 

"As I was saying" Lynxmon started again, "now to take care of the rest of you." 

"Double Star!" A huge throwing star hit the ground right in front of Lynxmon. A new Digimon appeared. "Am I late for this dance?" it asked, confidence apparent in its voice. 

Lynxmon regarded the newcomer. White, green, spindly arms and legs with large metal stars where hands and feet should have been, and, most dishearteningly to her, dressed in white, the crest of Sincerity on the headband of its 'mask'. 

"Kari! Izzy!" came the calls from a short distance off. Snarling, Lynxmon turned to leave. "You got lucky, this time." she said, and ran off. A minute later, the rest of the digidestined entered the area. 

"Izzy! what happened?" TK asked. 

"I don't know! One second, everything's fine, the next this huge black Digimon calling itself 'Lynxmon' is attacking us!" 

"Was it a controlled Digimon?" Davis asked. 

"We couldn't tell" Kari replied, holding Gatomon. "It was all black to begin with, and it moved pretty fast. It left just before you got here." Kari looked at the white Digimon. "Let me guess, Yolei found another digiegg?" 

"Shurimon, Samurai of Sincerity, at your service." Shurimon said, bowing. 

"Here, let me look at her" Kyle said, taking a hold of Gatomon. "These wounds are pretty nasty. This might sting a bit" he said, getting some antiseptic and bandages out. 

"Why do people always say that when it's really going to hurt a lot." 

Kyle grinned. "Shut up and hold still." He quickly cleaned and bandaged Gatomon's wounds. "I'd use a Super Potion, but I have no idea how it'd react to a Digimon. Don't worry about the bandages, they won't stick or anything. What hit you anyway?" 

"Lynxmon. She used some sort of attack called a 'Fury Cutter'." 

Kyle blinked. "Did you say 'Fury Cutter'?" 

Cody looked at Kyle. "Do you recognize that move?" 

"Yeah, there's a pokemon move by the same name. Nasty, does more damage each time it connects." 

Gatomon replied "that's about how it felt." 

"Weird" Izzy said. "It must be a coincidence; Ken doesn't seem to know about the pokemon world, and I doubt a pokemon could just move between worlds." 

"Yeah" Kyle said. He had a bad feeling...But Izzy had to be right. How could a pokemon get here without someone with a D-3? And he was the only pokemon trainer with one. Had to be a coincidence, like Snimon's resemblance to a Scyther. 

"Well, we can deal with it after we deal with Ken." TK said. "Izzy, your computer figure anything out?" 

"Oh, I forgot all about it." Izzy said, sweatdropping. "One sec...yeah, it finished scanning the spire. Give me a few days, and I'll figure something out." 

==Stone Town, that night== 

"Dad? I'm home!" 

"Hey son, what's up?" 

Kyle gave a tired smile. "Well, let's see. Izzy and Kari got attacked by an unknown Digimon, Gatomon got beaten up pretty badly, we found another digiegg, Yolei got it, and I think Ivysaur's got an admirer." 

Mikhail chuckled. "Definitely a full day. You eaten yet?" 

"I just need to check something first, down in 10." 

In his room, Kyle activated his computer, calling up the search function. 

>>Welcome to Pokenet.org! Enter search string:_Fury Cutter_   
>>Searching...   
>>1,021 hits found. Display top 10 (y/n)? [y] 

>>score: 1000   
>>Encyclo-Pokemon: Your source for Pokemon Info! 

Kyle opened the link, and scrolled down until he found the information he wanted. 

>>Move name: Fury Cutter (Type:Bug) A rare attack, can usually be   
>>found on bug type pokemon, though other pokemon can use it (ref:   
>>TM#B-049). Although having a low initial power, the damage   
>>doubles each time a successive hit is scored. 

Kyle closed the function. Curiouser and curiouser...His computer screen lit up, displaying a message. 

>>You have mail 

Intrigued, Kyle opened it up. 

From:Sam_Oak@Pallettown.rsch.net   
To:kellison@stpokenet.org   
Subject: Sorry to tell you... 

Dear Kyle,   
I regret to inform you that the Sneasle you   
captured has been stolen, though I have contacted   
the authorities and I'm assured they'll turn   
something up. I will keep you informed to the best   
of my ability. 

My deepest apologies,   
Prof. Samuel Oak, Pallet Town. 

It should be noted that Kyle failed to connect the two pieces of information until much later. 

Next Episode 

June finds out the truth about the Digital World and Kyle. However, a misunderstanding causes Kyle to go to the digital world, where he wanders into a trap set by Ken and his latest creation.   
Next, on Digimon: Digicross:   
"Ghosts and nightmares. Eevee, assume your second stage!" 


	7. Ghosts and nightmares Eevee, assume your...

Ghosts and Nightmares. Eevee, assume your second stage! Note: Takes place right after "20,000 digileagues under the sea" 

Digimon: Digicross TV series 07   
"Ghosts and nightmares. Eevee, assume your second stage!" 

"Final processing complete. Initiating startup." 

Ken watched as all the monitors reported the same message. "Computer, display finished product." One of the monitors displayed a large, multi-armed creature, something out of a nightmare. However, there was one discrepancy that immediately caught Ken's attention. "Explain changes to Torso component." 

"Unaccounted for mutation in data process. Should Kymeramon be deleted and restarted?" 

"No, that will not be necessary. Odd, I had originally programmed Greymon's torso in. Oh well, this looks much more stylish." He did not recognize the different torso, a yellow expanse with a large blue diamond. Understandable, as he had never seen a Tyranitar before. 

"Ken," Wormmon said, "is this wise?" 

"Are you questioning me? This is the perfect Digimon, not even those blasted kids can stop me now." 

Wormmon watched, sadly. He had a good idea of how those changes got into Ken's newest 'pet'... 

==Human World== 

The computer glowed, and the seven digidestined appeared back in the school computer room. 

"Listen, I'm sorry about the way I acted back there." Cody said. 

"Forget about it" TK said. "I'd feel the same way, if it was me. Look, I promised I'd meet Matt at the TV station, it's my dad's birthday and all." 

"Umm, can I tag along?" Kyle asked, nervously. 

"Sure, why...hey, that theater is nearby." TK grinned as it hit him. "So, June roped you into another date?" 

"Well...uh..." 

Davis got a bit edgy at that. "And just what did you have in mind for my sister, pal?" 

"NOTHING!" 

"Are you thinking about what happens in all those romance movies Yolei watches?" Poromon asked innocently. 

"Yeah...THOSE ones" Davis said. "You try anything..." 

Kari came to Kyle's rescue. "I think it's sweet you care about your sister so much, Davis." 

"I DON'T!" Davis cried, turning red. 

Outside the lab, June Motomiya listened. She had seen everything; Kyle and the others appearing out of the computer screen, those strange...things that she had seen Davis and his friends carrying around talking and moving around on their own...A sound alerted her. Moving as quickly as she dared, she hid behind a few lockers. 

Davis, what have you gotten yourself into *this* time? 

== 

After about 20 minutes of walking, TK, Kyle, and Joe were near the rebuilt TV station where TK's father worked. As they approached, they heard the sounds of an argument. 

"I'm telling you," the older of the two people the exec was yelling at said, "your problems are not technical but para-natural. If you'd just let me in...." 

"And I'm telling you two to TAKE A HIKE! I don't need your cockamamie stories scaring away our business" a well-dressed executive said to two people. 

"Forget it, doc" the third person said. "He's not gonna listen. He wants his station to fall apart, I say let him." 

"I don't have to stand here and take this!" The exec spun on his heel and marched back in. 

"What was that all about?" Kyle asked. 

"It's just my brother Jim and his teacher." Joe sighed. "Hey, Jim!" 

Jim turned to see his younger brother. "Hey, Joe! It's been a while." Jim looked at the two people Joe was with. "Hmm....I remember you, TK, but I don't recognize this guy." 

"Oh, this is Kyle. He sorta got into the club, if you get my drift." 

Jim looked at the professor. "Great. Is the sky going to get all weird again?" 

As the two brothers got caught up, the professor talked to TK and Kyle. "Kyle, right? Are you a digidestined?" 

Kyle raised his eyebrow. "Don't worry, he knows about it." TK said. 

"Ah, sorry. My name is Professor Takenouchi, I'm Sora's father." 

"Oh! It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." 

"Please, please, I'm only called 'sir' during school hours. So, are you a digidestined?" 

"Well, sort of." Kyle hazarded. He wasn't sure HOW the fact that he was from another dimension would be received. "What was all that about 'ghosts' back there?" 

"Well, the TV station has been reporting all sorts of unusual technical trouble for the past few weeks now. Images going bad, mysterious sounds on digital media, but none of the technical crews have been able to find anything. I think there might be some form of supernatural activity. Though no one wants to admit to it." 

"Oh." Kyle said. "I'd better get going. I'm supposed to meet June in a few minutes." 

"Have a good time!" 

==Later that afternoon== 

"So, how was the date?" TK asked, as they headed back to the TV station. 

"OK, I guess, though June seemed a bit distracted about something. She wouldn't say what, though." Kyle paused for a second, then went on. "TK, how many people outside the digidestined know about us?" 

"Oh, all of the original digidestined's parents do, Joe's brother Jim, pretty much anyone who was with us when Myotismon tried to take over this world. Having a half-vampiric demon on the loose in downtown Tokyo is kinda hard to miss. Why?" 

"Well, I think June is getting a bit suspicious. Do you think we should tell her what's happening?" 

He's really gone on her, TK thought. "I'll have to think about it. Why did you want to come back anyway?" 

"That whole ghost thing Sora's dad mentioned earlier. Professional curiosity, I guess." 

"You a ghost hunter? Let me guess, there are ghost pokemon too." TK said, jokingly. 

"Well, yeah, there are." 

As the two walked, they failed to notice that June was following them. Whatever you're into, she thought, I'm going to find out. 

==TV Station== 

"Kari, Gatomon, what are you doing here?" 

Gatomon looked up, a strange expression on her face. "I don't know, I just felt the need to come here." 

The voice was faint, almost lost in the background noise. "Gatomon.... Help me..." 

"Did you hear that?" Gatomon said, rushing into the station. 

"Wait up!" 

The guard at the front gate was surprised to see a small white cat dash under the gate. Then a young girl ran through. "Hey, you can't-" a young boy ran in after her. "I'm with her!" TK said, never breaking stride. Five seconds later, Kyle ran by. "I'm with him!" 

"That's Ishida's kid" the guard said to himself. "He's gonna get it now...nah, he can owe me later." 

So it's understandable that when another girl, slightly older than the first girl came up and asked if someone matching the description of the third boy had come in, he waved her through. 

"That'll teach the boss to cut MY pay. Maybe channel 6 is looking for work. I have a script and everything..." 

Inside, Kari finally caught up to Gatomon. "Gatomon, where are you going?" 

"He's here, I can feel it!" TK and Kyle ran in just then. The voice was heard again, too. 

"Gatomon...help me..." TK and Kari recognized the voice. TK suddenly wished that he'd brought Patamon along. There was something wrong here... 

"Wi...Wizardmon? Is that you?" 

"Kari...yes.... Help me, please..." 

Gatomon ran towards the source of a voice, a shadow, vaguely shaped like a small child in a cloak and pointed, wide brimmed hat. As the digidestined watched, a hand appeared out of the shadow. Gatomon reached up with her hand- 

And cried in pain as an electrical aura surrounded her. It seemed to be feeding from her back into the shadow. 

"Wizardmon, stop!" Kari cried. "You're hurting her!" But the assault continued. After a full minute, Gatomon was flung backwards into Kari's arms. Then she glowed, and reverted to Nyaromon. 

"Wizardmon, why?" TK asked. 

"I'm sorry, but Wizardmon is out right now. Maybe I can take a message?" The voice had changed into one TK recognized. 

"Phantomon" he spat. 

"Yes, and so nice of you to remember me." The shadow detached from the wall, and reformed itself into a shadowy, ghost like figure. A large golden bladed scythe was gripped in one arm. "Now I only need a little more energy, and I will be free at last!" 

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked. 

"A question from the mystery contestant, how nice. My physical body was destroyed four years ago. At your digimon's hands, if I recall" Phantomon said, looking at TK. "I finally gathered enough strength to lure Gatomon here, and had originally planned to drain her dry. But, more people, more power, you know how it goes. I think I'll start with...YOU!" Phantomon pointed his scythe between TK and Kyle, to someone standing behind them. Turning to look, they saw June standing there! 

"June, RUN!" Kyle yelled. Phantomon launched himself at her; clawlike hand aimed right at her. Paralyzed with fear, June screamed. 

No choice, Kyle thought. "Windy, GO!" Kyle released a pokeball, and from it, a small black sphere, covered in a mist and sporting a fanged mouth and mischievous eyes appeared. "Gastly!" it said. "Use Night Shade!" The ghost pokemon emitted a black, misty-like substance at Phantomon. The spectral digimon was driven back, but seemed otherwise unhurt. 

"I'm a ghost digimon. Your tricks won't work on me!" It said mockingly. "Shadow Scythe!" Phantomon swung his scythe at Gastly. It ducked, but the blade passed through some of the mist surrounding its body, and Windy flinched in pain. "Looks like you're about to be cut out of the action" 

"Windy! Go Psychic, NOW!" Windy fired a blast of psychic energy at Phantomon, who was disoriented by the attack. "Now, use your Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo!" 

"I told you those tricks wouldn't work!" Phantomon dodged around Gastly, and sped right at June! 

"Thunder Cloud!" 

A yellowish cloud swirled around the attacking digimon, and the crackle of electricity could be heard. "Wizardmon...how?" Phantomon gasped. 

"You're not the only free spirit around here." Another figure formed from the shadows, into a form Kari and TK recognized. "Wizardmon" Nyaromon croaked, still weak from the drain. 

"I'll undo what has been done. Magic Game!" This time, a series of arcane symbols formed around Phantomon. 

"No...I'm weakening!" Phantomon's form became blurry and indistinct. 

"The only way to end this is to send him back to the Digital World" Wizardmon said, straining to recover the power Phantomon had stolen from Kari's digimon. "You must open a portal." 

"But we can't get to the school from here!" TK said. "There's no way we can bring him." 

"The power to open the portal is within your digivice. Hurry!" 

"If that's true" Kari said, "then we need a computer. But we don't have one!" 

"Yes we do!" TK said. "Kyle, you have any empty pokeballs?" 

Kyle caught on. "Yeah! They're half computer already! Open up a portal on it!" 

TK held up his digivice. "Digiportal open!" The light from TK's D-3 enveloped the pokeball. when it subsided, the 'M' logo on it was replaced with a 'D'. 

Kyle regarded the altered pokeball for a second, then threw it at Phantomon. "Digiball, GO!" It hit Phantomon, and the ghostly digimon was pulled inside. It rocked back and forth, as the trapped digimon tried to break out. After a few seconds, it subsided, and with a noise somewhere between a 'beep' and a 'bong', it settled down. Then, it vanished! 

"It has returned to the digital world" Wizardmon said. "Now, to undo what has been done. Magic Game!" This time, the symbols formed around Nyaromon, who glowed, and returned back to her Champion level! 

"Wizardmon" Gatomon said, crying. 

"I am sorry it took me so long, but I have little time left." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Ken is not the main enemy; to stop him, you must find the last digiegg" 

"There's another?" everyone asked. 

"Yes. He has created a great evil...rrgh..." 

"Wizardmon!" 

"The battle...took more out of me...I'm fading...you must save him..." 

"Not so fast!" Kyle said. "TK!" 

Kyle pulled out a second pokeball, and he and TK repeated the procedure. "Digiball, GO!" Wizardmon's fading form was pulled into the pokeball. 

"Did we get him?" TK asked. 

"I hope so." 

June finally found her voice. "Could someone please tell me what's going on here?" 

== 

"OK, so let me get this straight" June said. "You, Davis, and the others are called digidestined, that little thing Davis keeps packing around is called a digimon, and you travel through a computer screen to another world." 

"Yep" After the events at the TV station, TK, Kari, Kyle, and June went to a small park near TK's apartment. The last hour had been spent explaining just what had happened four years ago, as well as more recent events. 

"And," June said, continuing, "That missing genius kid is really alright, but he thinks he's something called a 'Digimon Emperor', and he's trying to take over this Digital World." There was a nervous edge to her voice. This was completely beyond her grasp. 

"Well, yeah." Kari said. June shifted in her seat to face Kyle. 

"And your role in all this?" 

Kyle looked at TK, who nodded. "How to start...OK, you remember four years ago, when the sky went all weird?" 

"How could I forget?" 

"Well, where I come from, I never even heard of it." 

June was confused. "But, I thought everyone over the whole world could see it?!" 

Kyle looked straight at June. "Exactly." 

"I think you'd better start at the beginning." 

Kyle sighed. "Alright. It all started when a warp disk experiment I was watching went a little ca-ca..." 

Over the next half-hour, Kyle recounted everything. Stone Town, pokemon, and his role in the fight against the emperor, not leaving out a single detail. 

When he finished, he fell silent, waiting for June to say something. He looked up, saw the confusion and 

(dear god please not fear anything but fear...) 

-fear. There it was, clear on her face. "Kyle..." 

Kyle stood up. "I'm, sorry." and ran off. 

TK stood up. "Kyle, WAIT!" 

== 

"Did you find him?" 

"Sorry, Kari, he got away. I almost wish Wizardmon hadn't told us about the portals. There was a freaked out guy at the Radio Shack that was trying to convince himself that someone didn't leap into a TV screen and vanish. Where's June?" 

"I called Davis, and he's taking her home. She was pretty upset. Do we look for Kyle?" 

"We'd better give him some time to calm down." 

== 

In the Digital World, Kyle paid no attention to where he was going, he just wandered aimlessly for about an hour, before finally collapsing. 

Good one, he thought to himself. You fall for someone and wind up freaking her out. Course, I am a freak, in her eyes. Why did I even bother... 

"Feeling down?" a familiar voice said. Kyle looked up, and recognized the caped figure standing on an Airdramon. 

"I'm not in the mood for games Ken. Take a hike." 

"So rude. And here I had planned to give you the honor of being the first to fall before my latest creation." 

Before Kyle could say anything, the ground exploded in front of him. From the rent in the earth, a giant monstrosity appeared before him. 

"You like?" Ken asked mockingly. "He's Kymeramon. I constructed him from the strongest parts of several digimon. And with your little friend Porygon, uniting all those pieces became simplicity itself. So in a way, everything Kymeramon does to you will be your own fault. 

"Kymeramon, ATTACK!" 

Kyle pulled out two pokeballs, and threw them. "Eevee, Growlithe, DIGIVOLVE!" 

"Growlithe, armor digivolve to...Cyberarcanine, the strength of loyalty!" 

"Flare! Flareon!" 

Kyle and Flareon hopped onto Cyberarcanine's back, and the trio took off, flying as fast as they dared. "This looks bad" Kyle said, honestly scared. 

"Tell me about it!" Cyberarcanine answered back. "I'm reading Ultimate power levels, and...no." 

"What?" Kyle asked, not liking the tone of Cyberarcanine's voice. 

"I'm also reading it as a Stage 2 Pokemon! We don't have a chance without help!" 

"How about the control ring?" 

It was Ken that answered. "You fool! I BUILT him! He doesn't need a control ring to follow my orders. Unlike some digimon I could think of" Ken finished, throwing a look at Wormmon. "Your attacks are useless!" 

Cyberarcanine turned to face Kymeramon. "Then how about a new twist on an old favorite? STEEL FIRE BLAST!" The powered up attack slammed into Kymeramon's head, but had little effect. 

"That's it" Ken giggled, "egg him on..." Then, louder: "You call that a fire attack?" 

Kymeramon returned fire. "Heat Viper!" A blast of pure thermal energy shot from Kymeramon's mouth, and just missed its target. Kyle resisted the urge to scream as he saw a good quarter mile of land get burned behind him. Then the monster digimon launched itself at Cyberarcanine, and then a desperate chase was on. 

== 

"June? There's someone here to see you." 

June didn't answer. After Kyle had left, she had gone home and locked herself inside her room. Why did I act like that?? 

She missed the door opening, and Kari entering. "June?" 

"Kari...hi, sorry I didn't..." 

"Forget it. Can we talk?" 

June looked at Kari. "Where's Davis? Isn't he supposed to be falling all over you?" 

Kari smiled a bit at that, despite the sharpness of the question. "How do you think I got him to stay out?" 

June chuckled for a second at that. "Is it really true then?" 

Kari sighed. "Yeah. Kyle is from an alternate Earth." 

"And Eevee." 

"Yeah, him too, and all the other creatures that he has. Honestly" Kari pressed on, "could someone who has something as cute as Eevee be that bad?" 

"It's not that!" June almost shouted. "After he told me everything, I...I got scared, and he saw it. I could tell.." 

== 

"HEAT VIPER!" 

After dodging another blast, Kyle said. "Let's go low and through those canyons over there! Something that big *can't* be that agile!" 

"Right!" Cyberarcanine flew for the canyons, while Flareon, sitting behind Kyle, launched a series of flame attacks to keep Kymeramon back. 

"Like that tired old trick's gonna work! Kymeramon, cut them off!!" Kymeramon fired a blast at the cliff face, blocking Cyberarcanine from exiting. 

"We're gonna have to go in close!" Kyle said. "I don't think we can handle another blast like that." Cyberarcanine flew straight at Kymeramon- 

-only to be knocked aside by a huge skeletal arm. "SkullGreymon's arm. Nice touch, no?" 

Cyberarcanine twisted, fell, and crashed to the surface. Kyle and Flareon were thrown clear, while the armor pokemon glowed, and reverted to Growlithe. The puppy pokemon lay there unconscious. "Growlithe!" Kyle tried to stand, but fell. With horror, he realized his ankle had been twisted. No escape. "Flareon, get out of here! That thing's an ultimate digimon, you can't do anything! 

Flareon stopped, looked at Kyle. Then he turned, and ran right at Kymeramon. 

"Flareon, NO!!" 

"Heat Viper!" Kymeramon's attack struck the ground near Flareon, throwing the Flame pokemon back several yards. Battered, Flareon got up and went forward again. It tried a Fire Spin, its best attack. 

Kymeramon merely stood there, ignoring the flames that spun around it. "Heat Viper!" 

"FLAREON! GET OUT OF THERE!" 

Kyle's digivice glowed, and Flareon did the same a moment later. The flame pokemon seemed to levitate several yards up in the air, and his form changed. Humanoid, with two, no, four wings. Shield on his left arm, crest of Loyalty on it. Sword in his right hand, single edge, straight bladed. Crosspiece with a handguard. Faceplate, like Angemon and Angewomon's, tinted red. Red mane of hair, pulled into a small ponytail. 

"Flareon, digivolve to...Pyroangemon!" 

== 

"He's a really nice guy, June. Just a little, well..." 

"Weird?" 

Kari giggled a bit. "Yeah, I guess. I've been to his world, it's a really nice place. I just...Gatomon, what's wrong?" 

"I don't know Kari. I just felt...something's wrong. I know it!" 

June and Kari looked at each other. "Kyle" they said in unison. Kari got up, started for the door. "June, I-" 

"Go. It's not like I can do anything now...just go." 

Kari nodded, grabbed Davis on the way out, and left. She started crying about two minutes after Kari had dragged Davis out the door. 

== 

"Heat Viper!" The murderous blast of energy shot at the fire angel, only to be blocked by PyroAngemon's shield. The newly digivolved angel flew back, and launched his own attack. 

"SACRED FIRE!" A gout of flame, more powerful than even Cyberarcanine's Steel Fire Blast, engulfed Kymeramon. Ken didn't look too concerned; justified, as Kymeramon, only slightly singed, emerged from the blaze. Kymeramon, now drawing on the abilities from the Tyranitar helix the Ken had no knowledge of, used a different attack. Flying up a short distance, he dropped, creating a huge rip in the earth, and loosening much of the surface debris. Then, whipping his wings wide open, managed to suck the loosened earth up, and, flapping his wings again, launched the hail of debris at the angel. "Sand Storm!" Pyroangemon's shield blocked some of the attack, but he still received several gashes from the sharp detritus flung at him. 

This is not going well, Pyroangemon thought to himself. The injuries he'd received as Flareon hadn't healed when he digivolved; worse, he'd expended too much energy with that last attack. I have to end this now. Turning to Kyle, he saluted with his sword, then, wings flared, faced his opponent. 

== 

"I got your message" Cody said. "What's up?" 

"Kyle's in trouble" Davis explained. "Izzy, have you found anything?" 

"I'm trying, but all the portals to the areas Kyle was entering are gone." 

"Then find the nearest one! Hurry!" 

== 

"Heat Viper!" 

Again, the beam lanced out. This time, however, Pyroangemon flew -at- it, sword extended in front of him. 

"ATOM FORCE!" 

Kyle had about 2 seconds to turn and cover Growlithe's inert form before the two attacks collided, and a sun dropped on everyone in the area. 

== 

"Anything?" Yolei said, as she and Halsemon flew alongside TK and Pegasusmon. 

"No, I can't even find...WHAT'S THAT??" As they looked, a part of the horizon seemed to turn pure white. They both turned away as the light hit unearthly levels, then, when it faded, they saw what looked like a mushroom cloud. 

== 

Kymeramon stood up, having been bowled over by the force of the two attacks. The part of him that was Tyranitar raged at the damage; the helmet from Kabuterimon that covered his head had a ghastly rip in it, and the front spike was shattered. One of his wings hung limp, and numerous gashes could be seen all over him. 

Before him, Eevee lay unconscious. Revenge, yes. 

"Master, that's enough" Wormmon said. 

"Not yet." 

"Ken..." 

"I said not yet!" 

"BLAST IT KEN, HE'S GOING TO KILL THEM!!" 

Ken stopped, stunned. Wormmon had -never- raised his voice, ever. Then he saw Kyle's body, not moving 

(just like Sam...deaddeadead. I did it...) 

"No....not..." Ken regained his composure. "Kymeramon, return." 

The monster stopped its advance, caught between its desire to destroy and the programmed obedience to Ken. 

"I said RETURN, Kymeramon! You'll be repaired at base." Kymeramon relented, and flew away, slowly. 

Wormmon looked at Ken. "Master, I-" 

"Just drop it." Ken said. All this dust, making my eyes water... 

After a few minutes, Kyle's body shifted, though it remained unconscious. The move did activate one of his pokeballs. In a flash of red light, Marowak appeared, and looked around. 

Tch, it looks like a Charizard went nuts...KYLE! Marowak ran over to Kyle. Unable to rouse him, or Growlithe, both of whom looked very badly hurt, he opened up another pokeball. Gastly appeared. 

~Windy~, Marowak said, ~Kyle and Growlithe are hurt. Can you find help?~ 

The ghost pokemon nodded. ~I'll...LOOK!~ 

As the two remaining pokemon looked, they saw Eevee, battered, his fur matted and partially scorched, walk towards them. ~Is...~the evolution pokemon asked, barely able to stand. 

~I don't know~ Marowak said. ~Windy, get moving~!! 

== 

After the digidestined saw the explosion, Yolei and TK landed, picked up Davis and Cody, and, along with Kari and Nefertimon, flew towards the area. Even at this distance, they saw several fires and knocked over trees from the force of the blast. 

"Kyle.." TK said. 

"He'll be fine" Davis said. "You know him, TK. He's probably just waiting for a ride from us!" TK was too worried to notice that Davis had used his name correctly. 

"Down there!" Yolei called, pointing to a small dark speck that seemed to be flying towards them. 

"It's one of Kyle's pokemon, Windy, I think" Nefertimon said. The ghost pokemon caught up to the digidestined, and urged them towards the center of the blast area. 

== 

~Eevee, look!~ Marowak said, spotting the incoming digimon. ~Kyle's friends are coming. He'll be all right!~ 

No response. 

~Eevee? EEVEE!!~ Marowak ran over to Eevee, who had finally collapsed from his wounds. 

Next Episode: 

Convinced of his invincibility, Ken goes on a rampage through the Digital World. It is up to a desperate plan hatched by Izzy to stop him, and all the digidestined unite to stop Ken's madness once and for all. 

Next on Digimon: Digicross   
"Hellos and Good-byes"   



	8. Hellos and Goodbyes

Hellos and Goodbyes The two beings regarded each other silently. One, a humanoid figure, with light fur and tail, spoke first. 

"Who are you?" 

The stranger smiled. "A friend. Listen, I need to ask a favor of you and Mew." 

"A 'favor'?" Mewtwo stretched his psychic senses, evaluating the stranger. On the surface, he seemed harmless; an old man, bent with age and apparently helpless. But under that facade! "You are as much a human as you are a pokemon. Again, who are you?" 

"It's about a friend of mine..." 

****   
Digimon: Digicross TV Series episode 08   
"Hellos and Good-byes"   
**** 

==Stone Town Hospital== 

Kyle felt consciousness return slowly. His eyes opened, and he managed, through the haze, to make out several familiar faces. 

"Dad? Where am I? What happened?" 

Mikhail Ellison sighed, relieved to see his son awake. "You're back home in the hospital. As to why you're here, we were hoping you could fill us in." 

Kyle blinked. Names came back to him, connected with other faces he could see. Davis, Cody, Joe, Izzy, yeah, those were the names. Then he remembered the battle. 

"I remember...I was wandering in the Digital World, I can't remember where, then Ken showed up, and he had this...thing with him." 

Davis asked first. "Thing?" 

"Yeah. It was some sort of composite Digimon." Izzy's eyebrows arched, but he said nothing. "It had parts from all sorts of different Digimon. We tried to get away...Growlithe! Eevee! Where are they?" Kyle tried to sit up, then stopped as pain flooded his body. 

"It's alright." Mikhail calmed his son down. "They're at the pokemon center. Growlithe's just recovering now, but Eevee, well, whatever hit him; he's still out. Was it that thing?" 

"No, Eevee...digivolved again." 

"To Flareon?" Cody asked. 

"No, he went one more, I think you'd call it an Ultimate level. Pyroangemon, I think it was. Yeah, that was it." 

Izzy replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I had a look at your digivice. Here's Eevee's entry." Izzy thumbed a control on Kyle's pokedex, and the metallic voice read out the entry Izzy had selected. 

"Eevee: The Evolution pokemon. It has the ability to alter the composition of its body to suit its surrounding environment. The Eevee belonging to Kyle Ellison was caught April 12, 087 AT, and is a Data/Normal type. Known digivolutions include Flareon and Pyroangemon." 

"DATA?" 

"Yup" Izzy confirmed. "Oh, And your Growlithe is a Vaccine/Fire type too." He mock sighed. "You really should keep better track of your pokemon." 

"It makes sense." Cody thought out loud. "Both Eevee and Growlithe have been exposed to the Digital World the most. And digivolving would be the most sensible way for Eevee's body to adapt. I wonder if any of the other pokemon have been affected." 

Davis held a hand up. "This is all really fascinating, but we're getting sidetracked. Kyle, we know who did this, but we're still missing the why, how, and with what." 

==Stone Town Pokemon Center== 

Nurse Joy checked the readouts on Eevee and Growlithe again. Growlithe was recovering fine; he'd be out in a day. Eevee, however... 

A small sigh escaped her. Eevee was showing the same symptoms that Growlithe had the first time Kyle had brought him through the computer screen in the storage area, along with two people who were not from this world. 

"Maybe I should call it 'Digi-shock'" Joy said quietly to herself. 

"An apt name" a voice echoed, both in her ears and in the back of her mind. Turning, she saw two figures. One was an old man, white haired and bowed with age. The other was clearly non-human, bipedal, with light gray fur, long tail, and black and white eyes sparkling with intelligence. 

The older figure spoke first. "Good evening, milady. I am Gennai, and this is Mewtwo. Don't worry, he's an expert in pokemon biology." Mewtwo bowed, and walked towards the room where the two pokemon were. 

"Wait! You can't-" 

"I must." Mewtwo answered psychically. "If what has traveled to the other world is to be stopped, all the digidestined will be needed." 

==Tokyo== 

June stared at her drink, not having touched it since it was served 12 minutes ago. Lost in her thoughts, she missed the person who came to her table. He was tall, aged but not old, and had white hair, wearing a gray suit and tie. 

"June Motomiya?" 

"Yes? Who are you?" 

The stranger held his hand up. "I'm Kyle's guardian when he's here." He noticed June's confused look. "Forgive me. My name is Bryan Chevalier, friends call me 'Bri'." He presented a small business card, complete with phone number and email address. 

June hmph'd. "I suppose you're one of them?" 

'Bri' smiled. "If you mean a digidestined, no, but I am associated with them." 

"So what brings you here?" 

"I'm afraid there was an accident." He forestalled June's next question. "He's fine. In the hospital, but nothing worse than a twisted ankle and a few dings." 

"What...what happened?" 

"Wrong place at the wrong time, I'm afraid. He was very, very lucky. Would you like to see him?" 

Nod. "How?" 

"I should warn you, if you accept what I am about to offer you, everything you know will be thrown out the window. It'll mean a hard life with many difficult choices." He held up one hand. In it, there was a small, teardrop shaped object, all white and glowing slightly. "Last in the series, not yet assigned. Think carefully. Once you decide, there's no turning back." 

"I fell for a guy who's from another dimension. How much more could things change?" 

"Kid, you haven't even pulled the curtain on the window yet." 

June took the device. There was a brief flash of purple, then it faded. 

== 

"The link...!" 

Mewtwo was briefly staggered by the connection he felt. "The last time I felt something like this was-" 

"Ash, yes." Mewtwo looked at Gennai. "Mew filled me in. Mind you, Kyle has his digivice to strengthen the link. You should see a similar one on Growlithe." A quick scan confirmed it. 

Mewtwo focussed his power into the two pokemon for a full minute. "Growlithe will recover shortly, but I can only do so much for Eevee; his damage was more systemic, what Nurse Joy termed 'digi-shock'. That will take time to heal. What of Kyle?" 

Gennai smiled. "Mew should be there about now. You know how he loves an entrance..." 

== 

"We're not discussing anything," Mikhail said sharply. "Kyle's hurt, and he's in no condition to go charging back in to fight some oversized jigsaw puzzle!" 

"Dad..." Mikhail looked at Kyle. "Dad, that thing, it was named Kymeramon, by the way, but that monster..." 

"Yeah?" 

"It also read as a pokemon." 

Joe voiced the group's question. "You mean Ken has access to pokemon DNA?" 

"Don't ask me how, but I saw it, plain as day. It even used a pokemon technique, SandStorm. Ken said that he threw Porygon's data in the mix, that must be where those other factors came in." 

"So..." 

"Mew." Everyone looked to the open window, where a small pink catlike creature with a long tail was hovering. It flew in, hovering over Kyle's bed. It giggled then flew around the bed, causing it to glow in a soft pink radiance. Kyle began to levitate, pushed up by the psychokinetic force acting on him. 

"Kyle!" Davis said. 

"Mew!" the creature said again, giggling. The bandages on Kyle unraveled, and disappeared. Burnt skin healed itself, while the many abrasions and cuts vanished without so much as a scar. 

"Told you he'd make a flashy entrance." 

Joe and Izzy recognized one of the figures. "Gennai!" they said in unison. 

"Joe, Izzy, good to see you again. I see you've met Mew." 

Kyle and Mikhail went pale at the name. "That's...MEW!!??" 

"Who's Mew?" Cody asked. 

"Mew is a legendary pokemon, thought to be a myth. But why is he here?" 

"Because this gentleman asked us." Mewtwo said, walking in. "I am Mewtwo, genetically cloned from Mew's DNA. Both Mew and myself are Psychic type pokemon of great power." 

Kyle stood up, testing out his ankle. "I'm healed!" 

Mewtwo allowed a small smile. "I told you we had great power. Yet this will not help us in the upcoming battle. All the digidestined will be needed." Mewtwo gave Izzy and Joe a look. "Past and present." 

"I'll spread the word," Joe said. "Cody, can you open a portal for me?" Cody nodded, and left the room with Joe. 

"What about Eevee and Growlithe" Davis asked. "Can you heal them?" 

"Growlithe! Growl!" A frantic barking, followed by the shouts of several inters, were heard. Then, Growlithe charged through the door, and bowled over Kyle. "Growlithe! You're better!" 

"Growlithe's injuries were easy to handle. However, Eevee suffered more systemic damage, and will take about a week to heal. I have done all I can-" 

"HEY" an orderly shouted as he charged into the room. "You can't..." 

"LEAVE" Mewtwo's aura flared, the command unmistakable in his 'voice'. The orderly, a blank look in his eyes, turned and walked calmly off. Turning back to face the digidestined, he continued. "As I was saying, Eevee will be fine. And the fewer people who know about me, the better." 

"Showoff" Gennai muttered. 

Mewtwo ignored him magnificently. "And now, Mew and I must leave." Mewtwo held one paw up. "We may meet again, digidestined. Until then, farewell." In twin flashes of purple and pink, Mew and Mewtwo vanished, teleporting away. 

"Surreal" Davis said, Izzy nodding in agreement. 

"OK, so now what?" Mikhail asked. "There's an Ultimate Stage 2 pokemon flying around the digital world that's incredibly powerful. Can he be stopped?" 

Izzy started to answer, but was cut off as someone else entered the room. Davis was shocked to see that it was his sister, June! 

"Ju...JUNE?? How...??" 

June smiled at Davis' reaction. "Well, there was this tall guy with white hair that said he was Kyle's guardian." Kyle and Mikhail exchanged confused glances, mouthing 'guardian?' "Anyway, he said that he knew a way to get me here." She held up a small device. 

"A D-3?" Izzy gasped. 

"There's no escape from her" Davis groaned quietly. 

Gennai, still there, palmed his face. "Tell me," he asked, "did he say his name was 'Bri', or some variant on that?" At June's nod, he went on. "That starry eyed old busybody...*ahem*, well, I'll assume you know about the portals and the digital world." 

"Yes, and the Emperor." 

"Alright. I'll finish setting things up. Why don't the two of you talk." Gennai said, leaving the room. 

"Two? But there's-" Davis started. 

"Come ON, Davis." Izzy said, grabbing Davis by the elbow and marching him out of the room. The door closed, leaving only June and Kyle in the room. 

"So, you're looking better." 

"Had a visit from a legend" Kyle replied. "June, listen, I really did want to tell you everything." 

"Like you said," June replied, cutting him off "it wasn't your secret to tell. It's all right. I'm sorry I got scared the way I did. So, tell me about yourself." 

Kyle told. 

== 

About two hours later, an unusual event was taking place in Kyle's home. The living room currently was occupied by all the Japanese digidestined, past and present, as well as Kyle, June, everyone's Digimon (or pokemon), Kyle's father, and Gennai. Kyle quickly filled in everyone about his encounter with Kymeramon, the events at the hospital, and the fact that yes, June was now a digidestined (was Matt shuddering?). 

"That's pretty heavy," Mimi said, after hearing everything. "But if this thing's an ultimate, what can we do? Our Digimon can't match that kind of power the way they are now." 

"Hopefully, we won't have to." Izzy said. "I managed to get some useful information from that scan of the spire I did a few days back. It's got some really interesting properties." 

"Well, spill already" Tai, who was getting impatient, said. 

"Well, as I figured, Ken made the same mistake I did; he believes, as did I, that the Digital World is just a giant computer program. Only with him, he's taken it to an almost ridiculous level." 

"So you're saying he doesn't even know what he's doing?" Sora asked. 

"Nope. And I think we can use that against him. Here's a map of the area Ken's been controlling. See how the spires seem to form a sort of path here, and here? I'll bet he has some mobile base of operations. And if we can take that out, we should be able to tip the scales in our favor." 

"How?" Yolei asked. 

"I'll take this" Kari said. "Izzy confirmed that the spires aren't independent; they're just relay points for Ken's digivice." 

"So?" Davis asked. 

Gennai stood up. "That means, my begoggled friend, that there is a central power source for the control spires. Take that out, and everyone should be able to digivolve. I assume Izzy has a plan?" 

"Izzy does" the computer expert replied. "But it's extremely risky." Everyone nodded, waiting. "Well, we split into three groups. One group, the fliers, draws Kymeramon away from the base. No fighting, just draw him off and stall him. A second group myself, Cody, and Davis, sneaks into the base while Kymeramon's out and disables the main system. Hopefully, that'll kill the spires so the third group, the rest of the original digidestined, can digivolve and help the fliers out." 

"That's a lot of ifs," Cody said. "Yeah," Joe agreed, "and what about Ken? He's not gonna like a group of kids tearing up his place." 

"Based on what you've told me about this Ken," Mikhail reasoned, "I'd be willing to bet he wouldn't be too far from this Kymeramon being." 

"That's what I'm figuring, too" Izzy said. 

"What about me?" June asked. 

"Well, without a Digimon partner, there's not a lot that can be done." Izzy said. 

"Besides, once we digivolve, we're planing to leave the kids behind" Agumon added. 

"No way!" Matt said. "Where you go, we go!" 

"Matt," Sora said, a bit sadly. "This isn't like the fight against Apocalymon. Our Digimon aren't as strong as they once were. If the fight got too intense, we'd...just be in the way..." 

"It's not that at all!" Gomamon said. "We just don't want you to get hurt!" 

"With all due respect, Gomamon, if this doesn't work, the danger zone's gonna be everywhere. I'm a pokemon trainer, and I'm going in. Eevee did it, and so can I!" 

"YEAH!" everyone chorused. 

==Digital World== 

"More! MORE!!" Ken laughed maniacally. Kymeramon had been repaired, and was even now leveling another part of the digital world. The monstrosity, a reflection of Ken's twisted vision, was once again operating at full efficiency. 

"Master, haven't you done enough?" 

"Enough, Wormmon? Once Kymeramon finishes, all the chaos will be removed, and I can control the entire world. Nothing will happen unless I will it!" 

Outside, two figures regarded Ken's mobile base and Kymeramon impassively. The smaller, catlike figure asked "Mistress, you do not look pleased." 

The taller, white haired woman sniffed disdainfully. "That fool has placed all his power in Kymeramon. He's behaving like something out of a comic book. Never mind, once he's finished, his 'pet' can dispose of him. I hate loose ends." 

==Human World, 2 days later== 

Kari packed a few things away in a small backpack. She, and the rest of the digidestined, had told their parents that they were all going on a camping trip, and that the older kids were going along as chaperones. Matt's dad and Izzy's parents had been co-opted into driving; they had a good idea of what was going on, and the kids knew that those adults would not turn them in. Thanks to Gennai's influence, Mimi had 'won' a week long flight to Japan for one, and had arranged to stay with a guardian while there. 

"Kari, there's someone here to see you!" 

"Thanks mom! If it's Tai or one of his friends, send him up!" 

Izzy walked in a minute later, looking as if he were walking into a minefield. "Um...hi..." 

"Oh, Izzy! What are you doing here?" 

"I..well..about the concert..." 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No, no, I just wanted to make sure we were still on." 

"I wouldn't miss it. At least Tai will finally shut up about it! He keeps asking if he should send Scizor along as a chaperone." 

[Animation note: SD Scizor snapping his claws together, thoroughly evil look on his face] 

Izzy facefaulted. "Sounds like him. Look, I just wanted to make sure. No fighting. If something goes wrong, get out of there. Promise me." 

"What could go wrong?" 

If it's like the last time we followed one of my plans, Izzy thought, plenty. "I just don't want anything to happen to yo..to any of you." 

Kari smiled, truly touched. "I promise, nothing fancy." 

==Pokemon World== 

"Revives, check, Super Potions, check, field kit, check, lucky Moon Stone, check..." Kyle finished packing his gear, said his good-byes, and headed off. 

"Kyle," his father said as he was leaving, "be careful." 

"I will, dad, promise. Ken caught me off guard last time. Now, I've got friends and firepower. We can't lose." 

"Are you sure Growlithe is enough? You're not taking any other pokemon?" 

"Too risky, besides..." Kyle trailed off as he opened the front door. Outside, Scizor, Marowak, and Ivysaur were all waiting outside. All had the 'just TRY and leave without us' facial expression going full blast. 

"Look, I appreciate the gesture, but there's no way I can risk you guys getting hurt. Growlithe can digivolve, but you guys aren't strong enough!" 

~And YOU are?~ the psychic message resonated in Kyle's mind. 

"Mewtwo?" Kyle looked around, but saw no trace of the psychic pokemon. 

~You're going to need all the help you can get. I suggest you take it where you can~ 

Sighing, Kyle turned to get his other pokeballs. He was not surprised when he saw his father had already gotten them. "Let's go guys!" 

==Digital World, outside Primary Village== 

"This place has seen better days." 

Mimi and Palmon looked around sadly. The last time they were here, there were hundreds of digieggs and newly hatched Digimon playing all over the place. Now, the nursery was silent and unoccupied. She silently wished she hadn't been the first to get here. 

"Don't worry" Palmon said. "Once we stop Ken, this place should be back to normal!" 

A few minutes later, the rest of the digidestined arrived, singly or in groups. Izzy walked over to the control spire above the village, connected his laptop, and ran a program. "This will take a few minutes, but it should tell us where Ken's base is. Everyone know what to do?" Everyone, human and digidestined nodded. Izzy's laptop beeped suddenly. Checking the readout he announced "OK, Ken's base is Northeast of here, moving away. If we want this to work, we're gonna have to go now!" 

"Digiarmour Energize!" Kari, TK, Yolei and Kyle yelled in unison. 

"Gatomon, armor digivolve to...Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!" 

"Patamon, armor digivolve to...Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!" 

"Hawkmon, armor digivolve to...Halsemon, the wings of Love!" 

"Growlithe, armor digivolve to...Cyberarcanine, the strength of Loyalty!" 

"We're ready!" Pegasusmon said. "Mount up!" 

"I call Nefertimon" Davis yelled. 

"Too late!" Kari yelled back, flying off. She, Cody, and Armadillomon waved as they ascended. 

Yolei sighed. "Get on, flyboy. And keep it down back there." 

Halsemon mock-grunted as Davis and Veemon climbed on. "Alright, who's been snacking?" 

"Hey, I was hungry!" 

"You were, you ate two burgers before we left, Davis." 

"And WHO scarfed all the fries, Veemon?" Halsemon took off. 

"Get on, Izzy!" TK said. Izzy and TK flew off. 

Kyle released two of his pokemon before leaving. "Scizor, Ivysaur, I want you to help out here. When the fighting starts, you know what to do, right?" The two pokemon nodded. Kyle climbed on Cyberarcanine's back, and he flew off, joining the other three fliers. 

== 

"Hey, Izzy!" 

"What is it, TK?" 

"I heard you asked Kari out. True?" 

Izzy gulped. "Well.... Yeah, there's no problem, is there?" 

TK smiled. "Nah, but I think we need to talk. After this is over." 

"Right." 

== 

The rest of the digidestined watched as the first two groups in Izzy's plan of attack flew off. Tai sat down, sighed, and lay back. 

Sora sat down beside him. "You alright Tai?" 

"Yeah, just frustrated. If it wasn't for those spires, I'd be up there too." 

Sora smiled. "We can't be heroes all the time, Tai." 

"I know. Say, isn't your birthday in a few weeks?" Sora, puzzled by the subject change, nodded. "Is there anything you want?" 

Sora held back a giggle. "Anything but hairclips." 

Mimi walked over to June, and sat beside her. "So, June right? I'm Mimi." 

"Oh, hi. You're Matt's friend, right?" 

Mimi blushed slightly. "Well, it's not like we're steady or anything." 

"Really? When Matt took me to dinner, you were all he could talk about." 

"Matt did WHAT?" Mimi asked, looking over in Matt's direction. Matt began slipping away. Maybe Kymeramon can eat me, he thought to himself. He was saved when a small Digimon ran up to the two girls. 

"Hello Mimi, it's nice to see you again!" 

"Huh? Have we met?" 

Elecmon looked a little crestfallen. "I'm Elecmon, I was in charge of taking care of Primary Village, until the Emperor showed up." 

Mimi tried to remember. "Was that when we were fighting Devimon, or was it the Dark Masters? I didn't get to see much of Primary Village, and it's been a few years." 

Elecmon smiled. "I think you're thinking of my cousin, Elecmon. He ran it until recently, then I took over. We met under ...different circumstances." 

Mimi thought furiously, trying to remember all the Elecmon she met. "I'm sorry, but if you're right, then it must have been your cousin I met. I'm sorry." 

"It's alright. I've changed a bit since we last met." 

== 

"We're getting near. We'd better land!" 

The airborne digidestined landed in a small clearing on a cliff. In the near distance, they saw a large structure, airborne, moving slowly towards them. As it moved, it left control spires in its path. 

"Let me guess" Davis said, deadpan. "That's Ken's base." 

"You going to be able to make it in time?" Yolei asked. "I'm not too crazy about fighting that monster for too long!" 

"If things work out fine, you won't have to." Izzy answered. "Wait for my signal, then start your attack. We'll get in, and you get out of there. Got it?" 

"Got it" Cyberarcanine growled. "You get under cover, and we'll draw them this way." 

"Good luck" TK said. 

"Here's Marowak" Kyle said, handing Izzy a pokeball. "If things get tight, a few well placed earthquakes should help out." 

"Thanks. You'd better get going." 

The flying Digimon took off again, leaving Cody, Armadillomon, Davis, Veemon, Izzy, Tentomon, and Marowak (in his pokeball) waiting for the flying base to get near enough to approach. 

As the flyers approached, Halsemon noted "They don't seem to have noticed us." 

"Don't tell me you're complaining!" Yolei retorted. 

"Cyberarcanine, you want to open?" Nefertimon asked. 

"Gladly. STEEL FIRE BLAST!!" 

== 

Ken was knocked out of his chair by the sudden shaking of the base. "Report!" 

"Unidentified intruders" the computerized voice replied. "Displaying on screen." One of the monitors blinked on, displaying three digidestined and one very PO'd pokemon trainer. And they were attacking the base! 

"What are they playing at? Deploy Kymeramon. Wormmon, come! I want to see this for myself." 

"Shouldn't one of us stay here and pilot the base?" 

"Like anyone could even get in here. Ready Devidramon!" Ken swept out of the room, supremely confident in 'his' creation. 

Wormmon started to leave, then faced the console. I can't stop him, he thought to himself, but maybe I can help those that can. He searched the control console until he found the appropriate button. 

"Sticky Web!" The burst of threads from Wormmon's mouth hit one of the buttons. A small indicator light glowed, indicating that several secondary hatches were now opening. 

"I hope Ken doesn't notice." 

== 

Outside, the four fliers continued their strafing of the base. They pulled back when a pair of large cargo doors opened up, revealing the monster that Kyle had described. Kymeramon flew out, charging straight at the group. 

"Everyone scatter!" TK yelled. As the digidestined spread out to present a harder target, Ken also exited the base, riding a large black Digimon. 

Looks like Dad was right, Kyle thought. Now's your chance, Izzy. 

"Heat Viper!" 

== 

"They're out!" Cody called. "And the base is headed this way!" 

Davis squinted at the oncoming base. "It looks like there are a bunch of doors open" he remarked. 

"One of the attacks must have hit some sort of automatic system" Izzy figured. "That will greatly assist our initial insertion." 

"Huh?" 

"He said it'll be easy to get in. Armadillomon, you ready?" 

"You bet. Veemon, can you carry Davis and Izzy?" 

"Raidramon can. Davis, let's do it!" 

"Digiarmour Energize!" 

"Armadillomon, armor digivolve to...Digmon, the drill of Power!" 

"Veemon, armor digivolve to...Raidramon, the storm of Friendship!" 

Cody hopped on Digmon's back, while Izzy and Davis rode on Raidramon. Tentomon, being able to fly, didn't have a lot to worry about. "There's an opening!" Tentomon called, pointing to an open door in the side of the flying base. As it passed, the Digimon and humans entered the base through the door left open by Wormmon. 

== 

Joe's D-Terminal bleeped. "Hey guys, a message just came in!" 

"What's it say?" Matt asked. 

Joe looked at the screen. "It's from Izzy; they're in, and Ken and Kymeramon have left the building." 

"Any word on the spires yet?" Gabumon asked. 

"No, they're still looking for the control room." 

== 

The fight had been going on for several minutes now. The four armor Digimon battling Kymeramon had settled into hit and run tactics, aiming for the most vulnerable points: eyes, joints, wings, stuff one would normally expect. 

"What's this guy made of? ChronDigizoid alloy?" Halsemon growled. 

"Keep fighting!" Nefertimon said, pulling out of range of one of Kymeramon's arm swipes. 

"Cover me!" Cyberarcanine called. "I'm going in!" 

"Star Shower!" 

"Tempest Wing!" 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

The series of attacks impacted around Kymeramon's head, temporarily obscuring its sight. It also allowed enough time for the armor pokemon to get in close. 

"RAZOR WING!" The outer edges of Cyberarcanine's wings glowed, and as he made a near suicidal run between Kymeramon's wings, struck at the white wings Ken had copied from Angemon. The wings, which had sharpened to near monomolecular levels, inflicted some damage on Kymeramon's wings, slowing it down. 

Several hundred yards back, Ken shouted orders at the bestial Digimon. "Fight back with your Heat Viper! Don't just sit there!" Obediently, the Digimon did as asked, trying, and failing, to connect with the powerful attack. So caught up in the battle, Ken failed to notice that they were being drawn away from the base. 

Wormmon did notice, and silently hoped that whatever plan the digidestined had, would work. 

== 

"Thunder Blast!" Raidramon's electric attack took care of the last of the Bakemon guards in the area. "This is nuts!" Davis said. "We're just going in circles!" 

"No we're not!" Izzy insisted. "Look at all these cables along the wall and ceiling. If we follow them, we should find a central junction." 

"You mean like that?" Cody called, having gone ahead. He indicated a large door, marked 'Command Room - Digimon Emperor only' 

Izzy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess...CODY, LOOK OUT!" 

"MAROWAK!" FwipfwipfwipfwipTHWACK! 

As Cody turned, he saw Marowak's bone club hit a Vegiemon right in the head, shattering its control ring. It bounced off and returned to Marowak's hand. 

"Thanks Marowak!" Cody said. 

The bonekeeper pokemon bowed, which Cody returned. "Maybe you should meet my grandfather; he might like you." 

Davis went to the door and tried to open it. "Locked." 

Digmon gently shoved Davis aside. There was a squeal as Digmon's powerful drills went to work on the metal door. After a second, it fell into several pieces. "Unlocked." 

Davis walked in, entering Ken's central control area. "This is it? I don't see much." 

Izzy walked over to one wall. "I expected something. Do you think..." As he reached one wall, he reached out a hand, hoping to find a switch. Instead, a console came into existence, as did several banks of monitors. "Prodigious!" he breathed, impressed. 

"Some sort of holo-terminal setup?" Raidramon asked. At Digmon's inquiring glance, he replied "I saw it on one of Davis' tapes. Tenchi something or other." 

"Davis, you're an otaku?" Cody asked, incredulously. 

"What's an otaku?" Raidramon asked. 

"Some sort of skin condition?" Digmon answered, uncertainly. 

"This is all very nice" Tentomon cut in, "but, as we're inside the Emperor's base, which is crawling with his guards, and heaven knows what else, could we PLEASE get on with this?" 

== 

Cyberarcanine fired off a second Plasma Buster, with little more effect than any other attacks used by the digidestined to date. Kymeramon was too strong to be affected by any of their attacks. "This is getting pretty high, Kyle." Cyberarcanine said, noting the altitude the battle had taken them to. 

"I know. But the further away from the base we draw them, the more time Izzy has to take out the spires!" 

As the armoured pokemon swung around, Kymeramon saw an opening. "ZAP CANNON!" 

The ball of electricity shot at the two. "Kyle, hang on!" Cyberarcanine yelled. But he was too slow to dodge the attack. The two were enveloped in a ball of electricity, screaming in pain as they were electrocuted. They passed out quickly, Cyberarcanine reverting to his Basic form of Growlithe. 

As the original digidestined approached the battlefield, they saw Kyle and Growlithe falling. 

"No..." June said, horrified. 

"Biyomon, you have to digivolve!" Sora yelled. 

"I'm trying!" the bird Digimon replied. 

== 

Izzy opened up his laptop, and placed it on the ground near the holoterminal. The IR port on Izzy's computer was able to receive data from Ken's terminal. 

"What are you doing?" Davis asked. 

"First things first. If I can call up a map of this place, I can load it onto my own computer, and we can get out of here that much quicker if we have to. There, it's done" Izzy shut down the laptop. "Now, I have to see how Ken's organized this system of his." 

Izzy typed furiously for several minutes. "Pretty weak security, for someone who's supposed to be a genius" he said. "I don't think he actually expected anyone to ever get in here." 

"Criticize later, we gotta shut Ken down now!" 

"I'm on it.... THERE!" On one of the monitors, a window appeared: 

:Spire control/status   
:1,020 spires active. All nominal   
:Production system:Auto (1/50m)   
:Command?> 

Izzy quickly typed 'help' at the prompt. A series of commands appeared, which the digidestined scanned through. He typed in one command, 'display ext.', which called up a larger monitor screen which lit up and displayed an image of the fight happening outside. The digidestined fighting Kymeramon were holding on, for now. 

"Why not just format the whole thing?" Davis asked. 

"Better to shut everything down first" Cody answered. "If we just wipe everything, we might blow the whole place up." 

"Maro! Marowak!" the pokemon called, pointing to a small box near the corner. 

Digmon had a look at it. "It looks like an old disk drive!" 

Izzy grinned. "Perfect! One sec while I try something." Izzy pulled out a disk, and slotted it into the drive. Another screen lit up, displaying 

Welcome to syshack1.1 (LGun production)   
display user passcodes?>[y/n] y 

syshack1.1> Passcode 'Sam'   
Thanks for Playing! 

"And WHERE did you get that little program?" Tentomon asked. 

"Guy I met online. Nice enough, but he thought Myotismon's appearance was a CIA plot. Think his handle was 'Langley' or something. I promised I'd try out this program he sent me, but I didn't dare use it at home." 

"What DO they teach you these days?" Tentomon sighed. 

Ignoring Tentomon, Izzy went back to work. 

:Spire control/status   
:1,027 spires active. All nominal   
:Production system:Auto (1/50m)   
:Command?>shutdown   
:WARNING: Command will shutoff all spires until manually restarted.   
:Enter Passcode:*** 

:Accepted. Shutting down. 

"YES!" Davis and Cody yelled. 

== 

Biyomon felt a familiar change. "Biyomon, digivolve to... BIRDRAMON!" Birdramon flew up and managed to catch Growlithe in one of her claws, but missed Kyle! 

"KYLE!" June shouted. Unnoticed, her digivice started glowing. Elecmon, who had followed her, also felt a change coming on... 

"Elecmon, digivolve to...LEOMON!" Leomon ran, jumped, and caught Kyle, absorbing most of the impact the trainer would have suffered if he had hit ground. Birdramon landed a short distance away, placing Growlithe gently on the ground. 

June and Sora ran up to Leomon. "Is Kyle..." 

Leomon smiled. "He's fine, just unconscious. Here," he said, handing Kyle to the two, "take care of him." 

"I'll fill in for Cyberarcanine" Birdramon said, flying to the battle. As she flew up, Scizor ran by and jumped on Birdramon's back. 

"Where's he off to?" Sora wondered. 

"Probably payback for what happened to Kyle" June replied. 

== 

:Warning! Spires shut down. Run Betrayal.exe   
:Updating Kymeramon.exe. Kym.os.dat updated   
:Wiping all passcodes.   
:Autoguidance reset. Target des. "Primary Village' selected   
:Warning! Power Core overload initiated! Detonation on contact   
:-with Target des. "Primary Village".   
:Evacuate Immdiately! 

Izzy's eyes widened in horror. "No..."   
== 

Outside, the digidestined battling Kymeramon had pulled back. For a second, the monster had stopped, and landed abruptly. 

"Did we beat him?" Yolei asked, unsure of what to make of the situation. 

Then the monster raised its head, roared, and, in a booming voice, announced "I'M FREE!" The monster flew straight up, moving faster than ever. Heading straight for Ken! 

"Kymeramon, what are you doing?!" Ken shrieked, as the monstrosity bore down on its creator. 

"FOR ATTEMPTING TO CONTROL ME" the ominous voice echoed, "YOU WILL DIE. FOR ALMOST SUCCEEDING, I WILL MAKE IT QUICK!!" Kymeramon's head reared back. "HEAT VIPER!" The blast of energy cored Devidramon, causing the Digimon to disintegrate. Ken and Wormmon fell. 

== 

"Trouble!" Joe said, watching the battle through a pair of binoculars he'd brought. 

"What's up?" Matt asked. 

"I thought that monster had been put down, but it just got back up again, and now it's moving faster than ever! And it's attacking Ken!" 

Tai and Matt's eyes went wide (impressive feat, given that this is an anime series) at that. "Attacking KEN?" they chorused. 

"Birdramon just saved Growlithe, and...it's Leomon! He's back!" 

"'Bout time!" Matt said. "Well, let's get in there!" 

The rest of the Digimon digivolved, and headed for the battle. 

== 

"I failed..." Izzy said in a small voice. 

"Whaddaya mean?" Davis said. 

"I was so caught up, I never figured that there'd be some sort of failsafe mechanism....I failed again..." 

*SMACK* 

Davis was as surprised as Izzy. He hadn't seen Cody spin Izzy around, pull him down to his level, and hit him across the cheek with an open palm. "We came here to do a job" Cody said in a sharp tone. "Now snap out of it!" 

"Remind me to never get you mad at me, Cody" Davis said. 

Cody suddenly realized what he did. "Oh...Izzy, I'm sor-" 

Izzy stopped him. "No, I needed it. You're right, we have to finish what we started. But how??" 

"Can't we unplug the power core or something?" Davis asked. 

"That could work!" Izzy said. He called up the base map on his computer. 

"Only a genius thinks of the obvious stuff" Davis said in a cocky tone. 

"Or someone who's seen too many bad action movies." Cody replied. 

"GOT IT!" Izzy yelled. "The power source is three floors down, and back 28 rooms. We have to hurry!" The group charged out the door. 

As they exited, Cody called out "Wait up! We should make sure no one tries to undo what we've done so far!" 

"On it Cody! Rock Cracking!" 

"MarooooooWAK!" The combined attacks wrecked the control room, rendering every system in it utterly unusable. 

== 

So, Ken thought to himself, this is how it ends. I guess I'll see Sam soon... 

Ken's train of thought was jarred as he hit, not the ground, but a flying Digimon. "This is..." 

"Yeah," Yolei said, "I saved you. Don't ask me why, but you're probably the only one who can stop that thing, so sit down, shaddup and hang on!" Wormmon was clinging onto Halsemon's back, too scared to do anything. 

"That's telling him." Halsemon said, diving to avoid another attack from Kymeramon. 

"So, why's that thing after you anyway? Aren't you its daddy?" 

"Just put me down, I'll have that thing reprogrammed" Ken snarled. 

"Rrrrr.....YOU IDIOT!! THIS ISN'T A GAME!" Yolei screamed. "WE'RE PUTTING OUR LIVES ON THE LINE TO CLEAN UP THIS MESS YOU MADE, SO STOP THE HIGH AND MIGHTY ACT AND FIX IT ALREADY!!" Yolei kept at Ken for a few minutes, then finished off her argument by unceremoniously dumping Ken in front of the other digidestined. Ken started to get up, then noticed the rest of the digidestined. 

"Go on" Tai said. "Give us an excuse." 

== 

"Scizor, you ready?" Birdramon said. The Steel pokemon nodded, tensing. If Kyle knew what I was planning, he thought to himself... 

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon cried, firing a hail of fireballs at Kymeramon. The monster was distracted by the attack, giving Scizor time to leap from Birdramon's back, spin in midair a few times (think Trowa Barton -ed), and land on Kymeramon's back. 

"Scizor!!" Scizor cried, firing a Swift attack at one of Kymeramon's wings. The stars impacted on the wing, doing little damage. Kymeramon's skeletal arms tried to hit the bug pokemon, but they were unable to connect. 

Heavy artillery, Scizor thought. Putting his claws together, he focused all his energy into them, causing them to glow with a golden light. Crying out loud, he fired the Hyper Beam at the wing he had already hit. The wing, one of Angemon's, buckled under the assault. Kymeramon screamed, and his arms began searching madly for the attacker. 

Seeing it was time to leave, Scizor ran down Kymeramon's back, leaped off, spread his wings, and glided towards the ground. He spun in midair, and fired another Hyper Beam at Kymeramon, but it had little effect. Birdramon caught him as he flew down. "Nice work" she said. 

"ENOUGH!" Kymeramon roared. "HEAT VIPER!" Kymeramon put all its energy into the blast, forcing Birdramon and Pegasusmon to land, badly injured. Nefertimon and Kari were suddenly alone. 

"NOW, CHILD OF LIGHT, YOU DIE!" 

"NOVA BLAST!" Unknown to Kymeramon, the fight had dropped in altitude, to a level where the ground based Digimon could attack. The fireball caught Kymeramon in its torso. 

"Get away from my sister" Tai snarled. The other Digimon attacked. 

"Harpoon Torpedo!" 

"Fist of the Beast King!" 

"Needle Spray!" 

"Howling Blaster!" 

"Ivysaur!" Ivysaur tossed a Solar Beam into the attack. 

Kymeramon was pushed back by the assault. The monster landed, and glowed alarmingly. "SELFDESTRUCT!" 

Kymeramon exploded. 

== 

As Kyle came to, he made out June's face. "What...?" 

"Shh. You're alright." June said. "Everyone else is banged up, and a lot of the Digimon are out of the fight." Kyle's eyes widened, but before he could ask, June continued "They're fine, but that last attack knocked a lot of them back to their rookie levels. It's just Leomon and Kari's Digimon left." 

"Nefertimon" Leomon said. 

"Right" 

"What attack...?" 

Kari walked over. "It was something called 'self-destruct'. Kymeramon blew up, and knocked most of the Digimon out." 

"It's just a flesh wound" Nefertimon said, failing to conceal her limp. 

As they talked, Kyle recalled Scizor, who was about to collapse after that last attack. Where was Ivysaur? he thought to himself. As he looked, he explained. "Self-destruct takes all of a pokemon's energy, and channels it into a single concussive blast. It also KO's the pokemon using it. Now's our chance to-" 

"I THINK NOT" Kymeramon's voice echoed. The digidestined children, still dazed from the force of the blast, looked in horror as Kymeramon stood up, laughing. "RECOVER!" Kymeramon's wounds vanished. Its wings still hung crazily, not able to generate any lift, and SkullGreymon's arm was still shattered at the joint, but it was strong enough to stand. And walk towards the children. 

"Looks like it's up to us!" Nefertimon said, flying up. "Rosetta Stone!" The attack impacted on Kymeramon's chest. 

"Right! Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon's attack actually pushed Kymeramon back a few feet, but he ignored it. 

Growlithe added his fire attacks, but Kymeramon did not notice it. "YOU FIRST!" One of the black arms on Kymeramon seemed to stretch, right at Kyle and June. The two digidestined, unable to move, held each other, waiting for the blow to connect. 

"IVYSAUR!!" Four vine whips grabbed the two, pulling them clear of the oncoming attack. 

"Ivysaur! You're alright!" Kyle said, happy to see his first pokemon still conscious. 

== 

"In there!" Izzy said, as they approached a small room, connected by four catwalks in a large spherical chamber. Raidramon blasted the door open, and they entered the room. 

"That's it?" Cody said. Inside the spherical chamber, there was a small pedestal, with a black, rectangular object on it. 

"Yep" Izzy said. "According to the map, this is the main power room. If we can destroy it, we can power down the whole base permanently." 

"Then let's do it!" Davis said. "C'mon Raidramon, blast it!" 

"One barbecue, coming up! Thunder Blast!" The blue lightning shot at the object, and was absorbed into it! 

"Maybe your batteries are low?" Davis wondered. 

"All together!" Cody said. All the Digimon attacked at once. 

"Super Shocker!" 

"Gold Rush!" 

"Marowww-WAK!" 

"Thunder Blast!" 

The combination of attacks impacted on the object. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the black surface began to crack, emitting rays of golden light. One of the beams hit Raidramon, turning him back to Veemon. 

"Veemon, you alright?" Davis asked. 

"Yeah. In fact, I've never felt better!" 

"Is it just me," Tentomon asked, "or is that beginning to look like a digiegg?" Everyone looked at the object. AS the light increased, they could just make out the rest of the dark crust on the egg cracking off, leaving a golden digiegg. When it had finished shedding the dark surface, it floated over to Davis. 

"What...?" 

"Davis" Cody urged. "If it really is a digiegg, you'd better try it out! I don't know how much longer the others can hold out!" 

"You ready Veemon?" Davis asked. At the digimon's nod, he held up the egg, and said "Golden Armor Energize!" 

"Veemon, golden armor digivolve to..." 

== 

So far, the three remaining monsters had managed to keep Kymeramon back. Nefertimon had moved the children and KO'd Digimon to safety, while Leomon and Ivysaur kept attacking the beast with fist and whip. 

"Fist of the Beast King!" 

Ivysaur fired a swarm of Razor Leaves at Kymeramon. "FOOLS! YOU THINK-" 

"BEAST SWORD!" Leomon's blade cut into Kymeramon's leg. Kymeramon cried in pain as the sharp blade bit deep. 

"ATOM FORCE!" Kymeramon cried, detonating the ground around him. The force of the attack staggered Leomon and Ivysaur. 

Ken watched as the battle took place. "Why are they fighting?" 

"What are you talking about?" Yolei replied. 

"Kymeramon is the superior program. Surely you can see that." 

"Pr...program?" 

"Yes. Aren't all the Digimon programs?" 

Yolei held Poromon up to Ken's face. "Does this LOOK like a program?" At Ken's confused expression, she went on. "LOOK STUPID, THEY'RE ALL AS ALIVE AS YOU AND ME, SO DON'T GO PULLING THIS 'PROGRAM' GARBAGE ON ME!!" 

"What are you talking about?!" Ken snapped. "They're not real!" June stopped Kyle from running over and belting Ken; she noticed that Sora had the same task with Tai. 

"Yes they are, Ken." 

Everyone stopped, looked at Wormmon. "Ken, I don't know why you believe that, but you're wrong. We are living beings." 

"NO! It's not true!" 

Wormmon stared at Ken. Then, in a slow, level voice, replied. "Yes, we are. As real as Sam was." Everyone could tell from Ken's reaction that *that* was a low blow. 

"This isn't getting us anywhere. Ken, how do we stop that thing?" June demanded. 

"Ken didn't do all this!" Wormmon said. 

Ken looked at Wormmon, stunned. "You're lying." 

"No. I didn't say anything because I was too scared, but there's another force at work. She entered something called a 'Tyranitar' into Kymeramon's DNA sequence. That's why it looks so different, and why it's using so many attacks." 

Kyle pulled out his pokedex. "Tyranitar" he said to the device. It beeped, displaying the appropriate entry: 

'Extremely strong, it can change the landscape. It has an insolent nature that makes it not care about others. Its body can't be harmed by any sort of attack, so it is very eager to make challenges against enemies.' 

"Lovely" Tai said. "An Ultimate Digimon crossed with a superstrong pokemon, and it loves to fight. What's next, it can digivolve to Mega?" 

"No..Kymeramon's MINE! I MADE HIM!" Ken ran to the battlegrounds, ignoring the other Digimon. "KYMERAMON, YOU WILL OBEY ME! I MADE YOU!" The monster noticed Ken, and flicked him away with a casual toss of its tail. Ken landed several yards away, barely conscious. 

"Ken!" Wormmon raced to his partner's side. 

"Wormmon!" Matt said. "hold up, it's too dangerous out there!" 

"No, I have to get him out of there." 

"But he doesn't care about you!" 

"He did" Wormmon said, determinedly. "And as long as there's a chance he will again, I'll be there for him." Wormmon raced past Kymeramon, and tried to drag Ken out of there. He was surprised when Yolei and Matt came down to help. 

"Hey," Yolei said, "if you think there's something worth saving..." she trailed off as Kymeramon turned to aim a Heat Viper at them. The energy built up... 

"Magna Blaster!" A swarm of missiles hit Kymeramon, exploding and actually damaging the monster. Everyone looked up to see what looked like Flamedramon, but covered with golden armor! 

"I'm Magnamon, and you," indicating Kymeramon, "are history! MAGNA PUNCH!" The two beings began fighting it out. As they did, Kabuterimon, carrying Izzy, Davis, Cody, Armadillomon, and Marowak, landed and reverted to Tentomon. 

"What is that?" TK asked. "Is it Veemon?" 

"Yep! We found a golden digiegg in Ken's base!" Davis said, all smiles. "Pretty neat, huh Kari?" Everyone their just palmed their faces. 

"He never quits" June groaned. 

"That...was on my base?" Ken asked. Matt and Yolei had finished dragging him clear of the battleground. 

"Yes, it was" Cody said. "Though I can see why you'd have missed this. How someone like you could have any kindness in them is beyond me!"   
At everyone's confused look, Cody explained. "When Veemon used the egg, there was a crest image on it. Armadillomon identified it as the crest of kindness." 

As they talked, Ivysaur, Leomon, and Nefertimon returned, and reverted to their unevolved forms (or just passed out, in Ivysaur's case). "Magnamon told us to get back" Gatomon said. "We've..." the Digimon collapsed, utterly exhausted. Kari gathered Gatomon up in her arms. She looked around, and asked "where's Wormmon?" 

"There!" Sora called, pointing to the small Digimon, marching to the battlefield. 

Ken ran up, and grabbed Wormmon. "Where are you going?" he demanded. 

"There's one Digimon that isn't worn out yet, and that's me" Wormmon replied. "I told the others, and I'm telling you, if this brings back the Ken I knew, then it's worth it. STICKY WEB!" Wormmon spat a tangle of threads in Ken's face. He staggered back, clawing at the fibers, pulling his goggles off. Wormmon dropped down, then tackled Ken in the stomach, knocking the human down. Then the small Digimon charged back towards Kymeramon. 

Caught up in the fight against Magnamon, Kymeramon didn't notice Wormmon approach. The rookie level Digimon fired a string of webbing into Kymeramon's right eye, hoping to blind him. 

"DIE WORM! HEAT VIPER!!" 

Ken got his wind back just in time to see Wormmon knocked back by the shockwave of the blast. In the back of his mind, he saw Sam flying backwards when that car hit him. And he remembered... 

"I'm here Master. Use me..." 

"Hello, Ken. Feeling down?" 

"Hello, Ken, I'm Wormmon. I'm your partner..." 

"WORMMON! NOOO!!!" Ken's digivice glowed, some of the black on it fading a bit... 

"Wormmon, digivolve to...STINGMON!" The insect Digimon grew, equaling Leomon in size. He was all green and black, forearms covered in some form of black chitin, transparent wings coming from his back. Stingmon flew over to Magnamon, who had pulled back. 

"Wormmon?" Magnamon asked. 

"Stingmon, when I'm like this. Listen, I know how that thing was made. If I give you an opening, can you take it?" 

"What are you planning?" Magnamon didn't like the tone of Stingmon's voice; it was too calm. 

Stingmon looked back at Ken, still stunned by Wormmon's transformation. "Just take care of him. SPIKING STRIKE!" Red energy blade extending from one of his forearms, Stingmon charged straight at Kymeramon. 

"HEAT VIPER!" 

Kymeramon flew right into the beam. Everyone gasped, thinking the Digimon had sacrificed itself for nothing. For a long moment, the flash of the beam blinded everyone... 

Then Stingmon, carried more by momentum than by his horribly burned wings, drove his blade right into Kymeramon's head. There was an awful cracking sound, as the attack penetrated the helmet Kymeramon had on its head. "Magnamon, NOW!" Stingmon yelled, his voice a rattle. 

Magnamon touched ground right in front of Kymeramon, then flew up, carrying Kymeramon with him. After reaching what Magnamon figured was a safe height, he addressed the monster one last time. 

"This ends now...EXTREME JIHAD!!!" Magnamon felt his armor convert into pure energy, which was released in a single pulse, directed at Kymeramon. How much energy? 

Kymeramon was vaporized. That much. 

== 

When the light cleared, Davis saw DemiVeemon lying on the ground, unconscious. "DemiVeemon!" 

"Davis? Did we get him?" 

"Yeah, you did, buddy. What happened to-" Davis' question was cut off by a choked cry. Looking around, he saw Ken, by Stingmon's body. 

Stingmon was a mess, to put it kindly. His whole body was covered in burns, one of his red eyes was cracked and blackened, his left arm was *gone*. "K-Ken" Stingmon croaked. The other digidestined ran over to the two. 

"Stingmon...why?" 

Stingmon looked at Ken, then glowed, reverting to Wormmon. His injuries didn't look as bad. June looked up at Kyle and Joe. Neither would meet her eyes. "You're back...it was worth it..." And then he disintegrated. 

== 

Back in the Human world, all the digidestined met and tried to get their minds off what had happened. As they talked, the radio could be heard in the background. 

"And in other news, boy genius Ken Ichijouji has miraculously reappeared. So far, no reports on why Ken vanished mysteriously several weeks ago, though authorities are still looking for leads..." 

"Well, we won. Now what?" Cody asked. None of the digidestined felt very thrilled; after Wormmon had vanished, Ken had pretty much broken down, and had run off. The golden digiegg had also vanished, leaving behind a small rectangular object, which TK had identified as a crest. 

"Now," Tai said, "we have to fix Primary Village; none of the Digimon that were destroyed will come back until it is." 

"The Digimon can come back?" Davis and Cody asked, incredulous. Kyle looked interested, too. 

"Yeah" TK said. "When a Digimon is destroyed in the digital world, it can come back as a digiegg." TK didn't seem willing to go much further than that, so Kari filled the rest of the group in. 

"When we were fighting the Dark Masters, we lost a lot of our friends in the digital world. But, we found out that as long as Primary Village is intact, they have a chance to come back." 

"So Wormmon will-" Yolei asked. 

"Yeah. Should we tell Ken?" Kari asked, seriously. 

"Hey, where's Kyle?" Davis asked. Then, looking around, he noticed one other person missing. "And where's June...No, they're not...!" 

TK grinned, glad to finally have something to smile about. "Kyle said something about introducing June to his father. They figured they should leave before you got here." 

"GAHHHHH!!!! I'LL TEAR HIM APART!!!!" 

== 

"Hello..Oh, Kyle. Is it over?" Mikhail asked, as his son walked into their house. 

"Yeah, I guess....listen, with all the commotion, I never got the chance...well..." June walked up beside him. 

"What he's trying to say is that I'm June Motomiya. Pleased to meet you." 

"Well, come on in, June! I have a lot of embarrassing stories about Kyle that are dying to be told." 

"DAD!!" 

Next ep:   
With Ken gone, the digidestined take a few days to relax, rebuild, and straighten a few things out. What does TK want to say to Izzy? And why is Gatomon talking to Ken? Next on Digimon: Digicross- 

"Listen, I just wanted to say..."   



	9. Listen, I just wanted to say

"Listen, I just wanted to say..." Well, Ken's been beaten, I guess that means it's time for a new season of this little fanfic series. So, without further ado... 

[Opening Song provided by Prima]   
(To the tune of "Pokemon: The Johto Journeys" dub opening) 

It's a whole new world to explore!   
DigiCross series.   
(do do do do do do,   
do do do do do do)   
Everyone wants to destroy more Spires   
Everybody wants to show their skills.   
Everybody wants to stick with fliers   
Fly or climb to the top of that hill.   
Each time You duel!   
Your fighting knack gets a little bit better.   
With each Battle!   
You're one more step up the ladder!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale, with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
Everybody wants to voice their feelings   
Everybody wants to do their part   
Everybody wants to finish these dealings   
Take their place when the battle starts.   
Give it all You've got!   
You might beat one of the smartest ever.   
Take your Best shot!   
All you've learnt will come together!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale,   
with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta   
catch 'em all   
And do the best that   
he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new world   
to explore... (Explore, explore, explore, explore...)   
It's a whole new place   
to see... (To see, to see, to see..)   
It's a new locale, with   
a different outlook... (Outlook, outlook, outlook...)   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
DIGICROSS SERIES! 

Digimon: DigiCross TV series episode 09   
"Listen, I just wanted to say..."   


The portal glowed for a few seconds, allowing Davis, June, Cody, Kari, and Yolei to enter the Digital World. With all the chaos from the battle with the Emperor, there had been little time to repair the damaged areas, particularly Primary Village. 

"So, once we fix this village, all the Digimon that were destroyed will come back?" June asked. 

"Yeah. At least, that's how it was when we fought the Dark Masters" Kari replied. As she spoke, the partner Digimon approached the group. 

"Davis!" Veemon yelled. "How've you been?" The other Digimon greeted their friends similarly. 

"You seem pretty happy," Cody said. 

"Hey, the Emperor's gone" Armadillomon said. "The Digimon can relax a bit now." 

"Yeah" Cody answered. "It's just..." Images of Stingmon's sacrifice played in Cody's mind. Kari put a hand on Cody's shoulder.   
  
"Don't worry" Kari said. "Once Primary Village is rebuilt, I'm sure Wormmon will come back." 

The digidestined went to the site of the town, and were surprised to hear the sound of building taking place. Entering the village, they saw Kyle and his pokemon at work. 

"Kyle! June called. "You're here early!" 

"Hi all!" Kyle called back. "Well, I didn't have a lot to do at home, so I decided to start here a bit early." Windy, Kyle's ghost pokemon, appeared beside him. "All clear, Windy?" 

"Gastly! Gas Gas!" The ghost pokemon nodded. 

"All right. Onix, do it!" A loud crack was heard, as Onix broke through the surface, underneath one of the more damaged houses, and collapsed the structure in seconds. "OK, let's clear it out, guys!" Several other creatures approached, and started working. 

"I'll help!" Elecmon said. "June?" June took out her digivice, and held it up. "Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!" Leomon went over to the rubble and started moving. AS he worked, a part of the rubble shifted, and diminished a bit. Carrying a large piece of wall, a small bluish creature stepped out. 

"Who's that pokemon?" Yolei asked. (Hey, it HAD to show up sometime -ed) 

Kyle looked up. "Oh, that's Machop. She looks small, but she's super strong." 

Davis looked skeptical. "I don't know. She looks a bit scrawny if-GURK!" Davis was cut off as Machop reached up, pulled him down to her eye level (neat trick, as this Machop only measures a little over two and a half feet). Machop's displeasure at Davis' crack was made evident by several things, the most notable being the piece of wall Machop was carrying, and how Machop was considering shoving it...someplace rather unpleasant to Davis. 

"Umm.... Sorry?" Davis gasped. 

"Machop?" the pokemon snarled. 

"Machop," Kyle called, "he can't apologize if you throttle him. He's learned his lesson, now let him go!" The pokemon relented, let Davis go, then one-armed the masonry into the rubble pile. 

"Umm...yeah..." Yolei stammered unsure how to respond. The crew returned to work. 

After a few minutes, Cody asked a question. "Hey, where are TK and Gatomon?" 

Kari answered. "They said they had things to do, but didn't say what. And Patamon was resting, last I saw him." She fought down the concern in her voice. It wasn't like either of them to keep secrets from her. 

==Tokyo, near the Ichijouji residence== 

Ken had stepped out onto the roof of the apartment he and his family lived in. As far as the media was concerned, Ken Ichijouji, the boy genius that had mysteriously disappeared, was taking time off school for psychological help. As far as his parents were concerned, they were glad to have their one remaining son home. And as far as Ken was concerned...well, he wasn't sure what to think anymore. Except that it was a long way down... 

As he looked over the ledge, Ken remembered that last battle. The fight the digidestined had put up against him, the shocking revelation that Digimon were living beings, Wormmon's digivolution and sacrifice... 

That ledge was looking awfully good right now... 

"So that's it?" a voice behind Ken asked. "One step, and it's all over?" 

Turning, Ken saw a familiar cat-like Digimon. Gatomon, that was its...her name? "Come to gloat?" Ken asked sourly. "Or just to finish the job?" 

"It's already finished. It's over, isn't it?" Gatomon replied. 

"What's over? I'm still here." 

"You're a real idiot." Gatomon said, flatly. At Ken's surprised look, she went on. "Do you really think you're the only one who ever made a mistake like this? That you're the only one who ever suffered the way you are now? Are you really such a tragic figure that no one person could ever understand what you went through, much less forgive it? And that ending it all is the Perfectly Noble Thing To Do?" 

Ken, enraged by Gatomon's words, screamed back "WELL NAME ME ONE PERSON WHO COULD UNDERSTAND!" 

"Me, for starters." 

That stopped Ken in his tracks. "Wha...what do you mean?" 

Gatomon was silent for a moment, remembering one of the less pleasant episodes of her life. "You remember when Myotismon appeared? Tall guy, fangs, cape, played with bats?" Ken nodded. "I worked for him." 

"I wasn't found by a human, Myotismon found me first. And he turned me into his perfect little assassin. I went on raid after raid against any Digimon that would resist him, and made sure they stopped resisting." Gatomon pulled off one of her gloves, revealing an X shaped scar on one paw. "This is how Myotismon marked all his servants. The ones he liked, anyway. Don't ask about the ones he didn't like." 

"And then..." 

"And then we went to Earth, and I met this girl named Kari that I couldn't bring myself to harm. It turned out that we were partners, although neither of us knew it at the time. I tried to deny it, but it took the sacrifice of my best friend to make me see it." Gatomon looked right at Ken, and asked "can you say that I at least have some idea of what you're going through?" 

Ken nodded. "How did you deal with it?" 

"After the Dark Masters were beaten, it wasn't easy. A lot of the older Digimon remembered my former employer, and they remembered that a lot more easily than my later work. My friends helped though." 

"And if you don't have any?" Ken asked sharply. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I've managed to drive anyone who might even remotely like me away. There's probably a lynch mob in the Digital World waiting for me to show up!" 

Gatomon sighed loudly. "Me, me, me. It's never too late to make new friends. All you have to do is try. Here" Gatomon threw a small rectangular object to Ken. He caught it, and looked at it. As he did, it glowed with a soft radiance. 

"It's the crest of kindness" Gatomon explained. "It won't glow for anyone else, so it must be yours." 

"But I'm not-" 

"Then learn from it." Gatomon cut Ken off. "Look, I gotta go now. Wait about 10 to 12 days, then go to Primary Village. You'll know what to do." Gatomon turned to leave. 

"Gatomon?" 

Gatomon looked at Ken. "What?" 

Ken looked at the ground for a second, unsure what to say for a second. Then, "Thanks." Gatomon nodded, and left the roof, and Ken, who had a lot more thinking to do. 

== 

"Well?" TK asked as Gatomon jumped up into his arms. 

"I don't know. He's still an emotional wreck. You sure about this?" 

"You heard what Wormmon said. If we run into whoever was pulling Ken's strings, we're going to need all the help we can get." TK paused for a second. "Gatomon, I'm sorry for making you remember-" 

"Forget it. Like Kari told me once, it helps to talk about it. Anyway, it's your turn now." 

"Right. Next stop, Maison Izuma." 

Gatomon missed the reference, and just settled down. "What is it with geniuses and emotional problems, TK?" 

==Digital world 

Work had proceeded well at Primary village. Between Onix and Leomon, much of the rubble and buildings too damaged to be used were cleared out, and new buildings were being prepared. 

As the day progressed, the kids took a break. "Hey, Kyle" Cody asked. "When did you get here?" 

"About an hour before you did" he replied. "My day was clear, so I figured, what the heck?" 

"Doesn't that cut into school or anything?" Davis asked. "I had a pile of homework to do last night!" For some reason, June started chuckling, and Kyle started sweating. 

"I've been wondering about that," Yolei said. "Didn't that first week or so you were stuck here mess up your school schedule?" 

"Well..." Kyle started. "Actually, I'm not in school right now." 

"Oh" Davis said. "Summer vacation?" 

"No." 

"You weren't expelled, were you?" Yolei asked, horrified. 

"Actually...Pokemon trainers get a year off school when they get their license." June fell over laughing at that; whether it was Kyle's expression or Davis' and Yolei's was anyone's guess. 

"ONE YEAR?????" Davis all but shouted. Kyle nodded meekly. "I was born on the wrong world..." 

"But you make that up next year, right?" Kari asked. 

"Oh yeah, of course. Grade 10, then finals, and I'm done." 

"GRADE 10??" This time, Yolei shouted. 

Kyle blinked. "Umm...yeah?" 

Deciding he had suffered enough, June let Kyle off the hook. "His dad explained it to me. He's going to a tech school; it's kindergarten to grade 10, but you only get a month off for summer, two weeks for Christmas, and the school days run a bit longer. Plus the gear they have is really neat!" 

"Really?" Cody asked. 

"Yeah!" June replied, and began describing some of the technological advances she had been told about. 

As she rambled, Davis could only think of one thing to say. "My sister's a techno-geek." 

June overheard this, and grabbed Davis' ear, pulling him towards her. "WHAT was that?" Everyone laughed at the exchange. 

==Izuma residence.== 

"Oh hello TK" Izzy's mom greeted the young boy. 

"Hello ma'am. Is Izzy in?" 

"Yes, he's in his room. Did you want me to get him?" 

"Well, it's kind of personal and all..." 

Ms. Izuma smiled knowingly. "Kari, right?" At TK's expression, she went on. "He's been as nervous as anything ever since he asked her out." She stifled a laugh, then continued. "I may be old, but I'm not completely blind." 

TK grinned. "You're not old at all!" 

"Nice try, but I'm already married. His room is down the hall, last door on the left." 

TK thanked her, and went down the hall to Izzy's room. He knocked twice. "Come in, door's open." TK opened the door, and walked in. Inside the room, Izzy was there, as was Tentomon (TK shushed him before he could tell Izzy). "I'll be done in a minute mom, I just have to finish this program." he said, not noticing who had entered. 

TK smiled, trying not to laugh. "Take as long as you want, as long as you finish your vegetables" he said in a high falsetto voice. 

Izzy spun around in his chair. "TK! What are you doing here?"   
  
TK sat on the bed. "Oh, just stopped by. Remember, I wanted to talk with you about something?" 

Izzy went pale. It's about Kari, he thought to himself. I'm gonna die.... "yeah?" he said weakly. 

"Jeez, lighten up! You think I was going to put you in the hospital or something." 

Izzy stammered, unsure of what to say. 'Well...I ...you wanted to talk about..." 

"Kari" TK said. He forced himself to frown, scaring Izzy further. "I'm truly disappointed." 

"I'm sorry!" OK, mom gets my computer...Dad can have the laptop... 

"You should be" his frown gave out, being replaced by a grin. "Thanks to you, I owe Matt half my allowance." 

"huh?" Izzy went from scared silly to utterly confused. 

"I bet him Kari'd ask you first. Look, the only member of the original digidestined that doesn't know about that huge crush you have on Kari is, well, Kari. And I think Yolei, Cody, and Kyle know something's up, too. It's none of my business, but I am curious to know how it started, and why you haven't said anything." Izzy seemed to freeze up. "It might help, you know. It's been eating at you for a year now, it might help to get it out of your system." 

"Actually, it's closer to three" Izzy said. He slumped a bit, then told. "You remember when we were fighting Machinedramon, right? And how Kari got really sick" 

TK nodded. "That was the scariest part of the whole battle, I think." 

"Yeah. And you know Tai and I went to find some medicine for Kari. Well, during the...I...It's my fault Machinedramon bombed the city. I almost got her killed!" 

TK's eyes widened. Tai had never told him THAT. 

"I was so sure that I could draw off Machinedramon. I could have just masked our signatures whenever I signed in, or just sent a false signal to a different area. But no, I had to get cute." Izzy's voice took on a self loathing tone that worried TK a bit. "I had to show off my great skill by lighting up every access port on Machinedramon's screen like a Christmas tree." TK was about to break in, when Izzy continued. "And you know what the kicker was?" Izzy shook his head. "The fever she had broke on its own. We didn't even have to leave our hiding place. All I did by going with Tai was signing her death warrant." 

TK was quiet for a moment. "Cody told me what happened in Ken's base. Same thing?" 

"Yeah. If it wasn't for Cody, I don't think-" 

"And that's what you're doing now!" TK cut Izzy off. Izzy, surprised by TK's forceful reply, stopped. "Look, Izzy, you're one of the smartest people I know, so THINK!" He paused for a second, calming himself down. "Sorry. I don't like going off like that." 

"No, it's all right." 

"Thanks, but I am serious. You had no way of knowing how Machinedramon would react. None of us knew what we were doing in the Digital World. Heck, we still don't." 

"But that doesn't-" 

"You made a mistake. That's no reason to beat yourself up over it." 

Izzy calmed down a bit. "I guess." 

"And then?" TK pressed. He didn't like prying, but if he could get Izzy to open up... 

"And then, Kari grew up, and I kind of fell for her...I must sound like an idiot..." 

"For what?" 

Izzy sat uncomfortably, wrestling with something. TK waited. 

"TK, you're OK with me asking Kari out, right?" 

"Huh? Sure, why wouldn't I be?" 

"Well, I thought you and her...well.." 

"Oh, THAT! Look, Izzy, we're friends, we like each other a lot, but Kari's as much a sister to me as anything else." At Izzy's surprised look, he went on. "Hey, one minute, I'm the youngest kid in the group, the next, there's someone my age to talk to. You don't know how relieved I was to have someone I could relate to. Plus it was nice to have a sister; Matt's OK, but he can get a little too intense at times." Izzy seemed unable to speak. "Geniuses" he sighed. "Look, it's OK to take Kari out. Do you want me to chaperone you?" He said that last with a smile, which finally calmed Izzy down. 

"That won't be necessary" he said with a weak smile. Izzy thought for a second, then asked "Everyone knew?" 

"Yes" came another voice from Izzy's room door. Ms. Izuma walked into the room. "Everyone. Now I want you to go out and show Kari a good time, all right?" 

"Yes mom." 

"And be back by 7:30." 

"MOM!!" 

"Relax, Izzy, I'm kidding." Izzy sighed, defeated. TK got up to leave. He said his thank-yous and good-byes to Izzy and his mother, and left. 

==Digital World 

The day was long, but most of the village was looking better than when they started. Leomon, in what he called his 'last act as caretaker' pronounced the place safe to use, and opened up the vault where the infant Digimon were kept safe. The Infant and In-Training Digimon swarmed out of the place, while the digidestined had to carry the eggs. Carefully, of course. 

As the last egg was placed (Unique one; green with a single black stripe around the top), the baby Digimon began cheering. 

"Well, job done!" Yolei cheered. 

"Not quite" Kari said. "There's still a lot of damage to other parts of the digital world; they'll have to be fixed too. But don't worry, the Digimon there should be more than willing to help with repairs." 

"Who's gonna take care of Primary Village?" Cody asked. "You said that opening the vault was your last act as the caretaker." 

"I don't know" Elecmon said. "Gennai told me that he'd picked the perfect 'mon for the job." The humans and partner Digimon left for home. 

==20 minutes later 

Ogremon wandered into Primary Village. "Finally, Leomon's back! Now we can continue our battle and settle things once and for all!" As he spoke, a Punimon hopped up to him. 

"Excuse me, are you Ogremon?" 

"Yeah, shorty, what's it to ya?" 

Punimon produced a letter, giving it to Leomon. "Gennai said I was to give you this as soon as you arrived" Ogremon began reading: 

'Dear Ogremon   
As you've heard, Leomon is back, but as he's got a   
digidestined partner now, he can no longer continue as the   
caretaker for this place. Therefore, it is with great pleasure   
that I confer this responsibility to you.   
-Gennai   
PS: Don't forget to change the Infant Digimon diapers.' 

Ogremon looked at all the Digimon crowding around their new caretaker, and groaned. 

"AWWW MAN!!" 

==Human World 

As the digidestined made their ways home, Kari caught up with June. "Hey, June! Wait up!" 

"Kari? What's up?" 

"Oh, just wanted to check up on you. So, what do you think of the Digital World?" 

June thought for a minute. "Weird place, but at least I know what's going on now." 

"I felt the same way when I first got there. It's a really neat place, when you're not being chased by giant monsters intent on taking over the world." Kari paused for a second. "Umm, can I ask a question? It's kind of personal." 

"Sure, what?" 

"What REALLY happened on that first date you had with Kyle?" 

June held back a giggle. "Well, it happened like this..." 

Next Episode:   
As the digidestined separate and try to repair the damaged sections of the digital world, Lynxmon attacks Cody. Unable to call for help, Armadillomon must fight as he has never fought before to save his partner. Next on Digimon: DigiCross:   
"Invulnerable Juggernaut Ankylomon" 

**   
DigiCross Side Stories: "Kyle's first date!"   
** 

Digimon: DigiCross Special Feature   
This takes place during the events of "Get Along, Little Cody!" 

==Motomiya residence, 1:30pm. Saturday, if you must know.== 

'Dear Diary,   
Well, today's the day. I'm not really sure why I asked that kid out. I mean, he's pretty cute. Not nearly as cute as Matt (who is?), but he seems nice. I hope he's not as tense as Matt was; I'd swear he was scared of me or something, that night at the restaurant.   
I think it's because I'm a bit worried about Davis. He's been sneaking around a lot lately, and it's my job as his big sister to find out what he's up to. I think Kyle might know something. Plus he's new, and someone should show him around. And Eevee is so kawaii! It's an odd name for a pet though.' 

Closing her diary, June got ready for her big day. She heard the door open, and a familiar voice introduce himself. That must be him, she thought to herself. Time to go! 

==Motomiya living room== 

"So, you're Kyle" Davis' father said in The Voice. Yes, that Voice. The 'I want to know what you have in mind for my daughter, and lay so much as one hand on her and I'll make the Inquisition look like a kid's TV show' Voice. Every father has one for times such as this. Kyle, Eevee beside him, squirmed a bit, resisting the urge to see if there was someone with a mop and bucket nearby, or he was standing on a plastic sheet. 

"Umm...yes, sir" Kyle replied, unnerved. He was spared further humiliation by June entering the room. 

"DADDY!! You do this every time one of my friends come over!" 

June's father looked back at her. "Only the male ones, sweetheart." 

Exasperated, June sighed, then turned to face Kyle. "I'm really glad you came, I've got the whole day planned out." Looking down, she saw Eevee. "Ooh, you brought Eevee too." Eevee yipped affectionately. "I'm sorry, but a lot of the places we're going to don't allow pets, even ones as cute as you." 

"Huh? Why not?" This was unusual to Kyle; on his world, pokemon were welcome almost anywhere. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure Davis won't mind watching him. Will you?" June asked sweetly. 

"Alright, all right" Davis grumbled. As he bent down to pick up Eevee, he whispered to Kyle "You owe me for this." 

"Umm...right" Kyle said. In a louder voice, Kyle said "Eevee, you listen to Davis, all right?" Eevee gave a small "vee?" and tilted his head to the side. "Within limits, of course." Kyle added. Eevee nodded, relieved expression on his face. Davis, his parents being in the same room, refrained from saying what he thought of that little exchange. 

That little creature understood him, and he just spoke to him as if he were a human, June thought to herself. This is getting weirder and weirder. "Come on Kyle, we're leaving!" Grabbing Kyle's hand, June led him to the door. "We'll be back before dinner! Bye!!!" 

=Two hours later= 

So far, Kyle's 'date' had gone pretty smoothly. June had led him on a walking tour of Tokyo, showing him places like the local shrine (and one of the priestesses in training there, one of June's friends from some years back), the monorail (and going all over town on it), Tokyo Tower (and it had just reopened *again*; something about a blinding flash of light and three schoolgirls disappearing for a second, then reappearing, crying their eyes out). Now they were coming up on what June had said was 'one of the best' restaurants in the area. 

"Here we are!" June said, leading Kyle into a small restaurant. It was a western style place, and the menu posted at the door made Kyle turn a little white. 

That much for a hamburger? he thought to himself, I've been spoiled by the Pokemon Centers. The two went inside, selected a seat, and waited to be served. 

"So, tell me about yourself." 

June's question caught Kyle a bit off guard. "Huh?" 

"Come on!" June said, a bit exasperated. "I mean, where are you from? How'd you meet my brother?" 

"Ah...I'm from Stone Town in Kan...I mean, Canada" Kyle quickly dredged the cover story Izzy had thought up for him if such a situation came up. "It's a small town, just below the Stonies." 

"You mean Rockies, right?" 

"Yeah, that's it!! Sorry..." 

June eyed Kyle a bit suspiciously. He wasn't lying outright, but he was covering something up. "So, how'd you meet Davis?" 

"I dropped in on a friend of his..." Kyle went on to relate a highly abbreviated recap of his adventures to date, leaving out any mention of the fact that he was   
a)from another dimension,   
b)regularly traveling between his world and this world through a computer screen in a school lab,   
c)and that he, June's brother, and several other kids were engaged in a running battle with that genius boy who disappeared a few weeks ago, who was really quite determined to take over a place called the digital world. To say it left out a bit would be too kind. 

Yeah, she'd believe the truth, Kyle thought sourly. 'Hi, I'm from an alternate Earth where little creatures with fantastic powers live. You free Saturday?' I'd be locked up in two seconds. 

== 

Unknown to the two, they were being followed. Not by mind controlled Digimon, sinister forces of darkness, or immigration officials (hey, there might BE laws about transdimensional travelers), but by Davis and Yolei. While the other digidestined were in the Digital World, Davis and Yolei decided to spend the time spying...that is, making sure things went well between Kyle and June (Who Davis was NOT worried about. Not at all. Not one bit. Nope. Not him. Just along for the ride...). 

"What are they doing?" Davis asked for the tenth time in four minutes. Not that he was worried... 

"They're kissing" Yolei said flatly. 

"I'LL TEAR HIM APART WITH MY BARE HANDS!!" 

"Quiet willya? I was kidding!" As the two watched, Kyle and June sat, talked, and waited for their meal to arrive. June seemed pretty happy, while Kyle was still a little nervous. "Why are you following them around anyway?" Yolei asked. 

"I'm not following them! Eevee needed a walk, and I decided to go along. It's just a coincidence!!" Eevee looked at Davis as if he were mad. Yolei was starting to agree with the little pokemon. 

== 

June listened to Kyle's narrative, asking a few questions every now and then. He's still hiding something, she thought to herself. "Well, that's a pretty interesting story." 

"What I told you is true" Kyle said, feeling the moral high ground subduct underneath him. 

"I don't doubt it. Still, you seem like too nice a guy to do anything mean to Davis." 

"What kind of freak do you take me for?!?!?" 

June tried to calm him down. "Relax, relax," she said, chuckling. Boy he's nervous, she thought to herself. "I didn't mean anything by it. And you are a pretty nice guy." 

Kyle blushed crimson. June giggled. "You think you'd never gone out before." 

"Actually, I...er...haven't. I've been busy with school and everything..." 

"A cute guy like you? Now I know you're lying!" she said, grinning.   
Kyle didn't reply. He just blushed even more deeply. First timer, June confirmed. "I think I'd like to see you again, but there's still a lot you're not telling me." 

Kyle looked up at June. "It's not my secret to tell. Believe me, if I could, I would, but I just can't. But you have to believe me, I'm not going to do anything to Davis. He's my friend!" 

"I think I can accept that for now." June checked her watch. "Well, I'd better get you home. Say, where do you live?" 

"Well...I commute to the Tosan region. I really can't remember the name of the place I stay at, just how to get there." 

Far enough away to be hard to get to. Convenient. "Well, the stop to Tosan is near my place, I can walk you there?" 

"Um...sure." 

== 

Outside, Davis and Yolei watched as the two got up from the table, settled the bill, and made to exit the place. "Hide, they're coming!" Davis said, leaping into the shrub by the door. Yolei grabbed a newspaper and started reading, sitting at one of the outdoor tables. 

June picked out the purple haired girl as soon as she exited the restaurant. And if I know Davis... She pulled back a sleeve, and reached into the shrubbery near the door. "And your reason for being here is?" She asked Davis as she pulled him up. 

"Err...Eevee needed a walk?" Eevee stuck his head up, mane a tangled mess. 

"DAVIS!!" Kyle said, the trainer in him getting mad. "I can't believe you did this! I spent hours combing out his mane last night! Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean that properly?? GAHH!!" June was taken aback. Wow, she thought, file that in the 'Buttons not to push' column. "Come on Eevee, I'll take you home." Kyle held his arm down, and Eevee ran up and curled around Kyle's neck. 

"He's a flexible little thing" June said. 

"More like plain lazy. I think I've carried him like this more times in the last 7 months than he's actually walked." Eevee pointedly ignored Kyle, pretending to be asleep. June found herself laughing at the whole performance. The two walked back to June's place, Davis trailing behind them. Yolei, still reading the newspaper she picked up at the restaurant, followed Davis. 

When they reached the door to the apartment June and Davis' parents lived in, June said "Well, I had a really nice time. So," she checked to see if Davis was listening, "is next Saturday all right?" 

"...sure.." Kyle said. "Um, I think something's wrong with Davis..." Kyle pointed to Davis, who had just stopped dead, jaw hanging open. 

"Oh, don't mind him" she said. "He just needs to do the dishes for a week so I don't tell Mom you were spying on me, right?" Davis nodded, not saying a word. "Of course, you could get your girlfriend to help." Yolei, still reading the newspaper, stiffened, but said nothing. 

Did EVERYONE follow me? Kyle thought to himself. "Well, I'd better head to the bus stop. It was nice meeting you June." 

"It was nice meeting you too. See you around!" 

== 

'Dear Diary,   
Well, despite Davis following me (big surprise), and Kyle not telling me everything, I think I'd like to see him again. He doesn't seem to freak out as much as Matt does when I'm around. He gets all shy and embarrassed, but that's different. And kinda cute.   
At least he was able to tell me that something was going on, I like honesty in a person. Now if I can just figure out what he and Davis are up to...' 

End.   



	10. Invulnerable Juggernaut Ankylomon

Invulnerable Juggernaut Ankylomon Author foreword: It has been pointed out to me that I have made several errors. One, Izzy's last name is Izumi, not Izuma. Second, it's Yokomon, not Yocomon. To these errors, I make the following response. 

*ahem*...D'OH! 

And now, on with the show! 

Recap (TK V/O)   
"Last time, Gatomon and I had a few words to share with Ken and Izzy. Gatomon managed to talk Ken from doing something stupid, and I managed to convince Izzy that it was alright to ask Kari out. Over in the Digital World, the rest of the gang was busy rebuilding Primary Village, and learning a few surprising facts about Kyle's home. I wonder if I can transfer over because a year off school sounds like fun!" 

Digimon: Digicross TV series episode 10:   
'Invulnerable Juggernaut Ankylomon' 

OP Song by Prima (of Fanfiction.net fame) 

It's a whole new world to explore!   
DigiCross series.   
(do do do do do do,   
do do do do do do)   
Everyone wants to destroy more Spires   
Everybody wants to show their skills.   
Everybody wants to stick with fliers   
Fly or climb to the top of that hill.   
Each time You duel!   
Your fighting knack gets a little bit better.   
With each Battle!   
You're one more step up the ladder!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale, with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
Everybody wants to voice their feelings   
Everybody wants to do their part   
Everybody wants to finish these dealings   
Take their place when the battle starts.   
Give it all You've got!   
You might beat one of the smartest ever.   
Take your Best shot!   
All you've learnt will come together!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale,   
with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta   
catch 'em all   
And do the best that   
he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new world   
to explore... (Explore, explore, explore, explore...)   
It's a whole new place   
to see... (To see, to see, to see..)   
It's a new locale, with   
a different outlook... (Outlook, outlook, outlook...)   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
DIGICROSS SERIES! 

(^_^) 

==Digital World, Primary Village. 

Ogremon watched as Ken left, taking a small digimon with him. He had been only too ready to go out and beat the former Digimon Emperor into a small red smear on the ground, but he had been held back at the last minute. Surprisingly, by Gennai. 

"Why'd you let him walk? He's the-" 

Gennai stopped Ogremon. "He was. Don't you recognize the digimon he took with him?" Ogremon shook his head. "That was Leafmon, Wormmon's Infant form." 

"But he might do it again!" There was no question what Ogremon meant by 'it'. 

Gennai looked at Ogremon, remembering the last time Ogremon had been at Primary Village. "As much chance, I estimate, as you attacking the digimon here" he replied with a grin. 

"ARE YOU NUTS? I can do twice as good a job as Leomon can, just watch!!" Resolutely, Ogremon went out to calm the other infant digimon down, whether they wanted to be calmed or not. 

It's like playing a violin, Gennai thought. I can get Ogremon to do anything by suggesting Leomon is better. He got up to leave as well, but not for the village. He needed to have a quick word with Mewtwo. And send off a quick email to Ken... 

==Human World, about the same time. 

Strike. 

Strike. 

Str-NO, GUARD! Cody flinched as his grandfather's shinai, the training sword used by practitioners of modern Kendo, tapped lightly on Cody's helmet. 

"Cody? Is everything alright? You seem a bit distracted today. In fact, you have been almost unforgivably distracted." 

"I...I'm sorry, grandfather" Cody said, bowing. In truth, ever since Ken's defeat and Stingmon's sacrifice, he hadn't been sure what to think. Should he still hate Ken? Davis had mentioned forgiving the former Emperor, but Cody was still not convinced. But he seemed so sad when Stingmon...Cody's thought cut off. "Grandfather, can I ask you something?" 

"Of course. But I sense it is something you do not wish to share with your grandfather," he said, knowingly. 

Cody cringed a bit. "It's...well..." 

"It's alright, Cody. Some things are better left unsaid. Tell me what you can, and I will impart some of my vast store of wisdom." 

Cody organized his thoughts for a second, then started. "It's about this person who did a lot of horrible things, but he didn't know he was doing them, and when he found out, he seemed sorry, but someone close to him had to sacrifice himself to make that person see what he was doing wrong." 

Cody's grandfather sat for a minute, thinking. "And you are not sure how you should feel about this person. Is that it?" Cody nodded. "Well, then. If he is truly sorry, then you should forgive him." 

"Are you sure?" 

Mr. Hida sat silent for a moment. "Yes, I am. For I have faced the same situation, myself." At Cody's look of surprise, he went on "when you are older, I will tell you. For now, let us say that I think I do understand how you feel, and that forgiveness is usually the best way to approach these matters." Mr. Hida stood up. "Now, I think we should call it a day, yes? We old folks cannot keep up with you young people and your undisciplined energy." He finished with a smile, and watched as his grandson left. 

What are you involved in, he thought to himself, and how much more will it force you to grow up? 

==Digital World 

"Are we there yet?" Cody called to Kyle. He and Kyle were on the way to make repairs to another section of the digital world; Primary village was restored, but many of the cities were devastated - if not by Kymeramon, then by uncontrolled digimon. However, as Growlithe was still in the Pokemon center, and there were no rivers near where they were headed, they were forced to take a slightly different form of transit. 

"WHAT???" Kyle yelled back, sitting further forward on Onix. It usually wasn't bad, but the shriek Onix's body made when it moved over large rocks... 

Cody climbed up Onix's rocky body to Kyle. "I said, 'are we there yet'?" 

"According to the map Izzy sent, it should be right....there!" Kyle pointed, and the two humans saw a partially wrecked city, as well as several dozen digimon milling about, making minor repairs. 

"Well, let's get to it," Cody said. 

==2 hours later 

Several damaged sections of the city were slowly being repaired. Between Onix, Marowak, Machop, Digmon, and several other digimon in the area, the removal of buildings too dangerous to live in was proceeding swiftly, as was the clearing of the rubble to make way for slightly safer dwellings. Kyle, Cody, and Eevee helped with construction. 

Cody sat down, exhausted from the work they'd done so far. "Hey Kyle! Can we take a break?" 

"Sure. Onix, Machop, Marowak, take 5!" The pokemon stopped work, and rested near the river. "Whew. When dad said that pokemon training was a lot of work, I don't think this is what he meant." Cody chuckled a bit at that. Kyle sat beside him, Eevee hopping up on the stone bench and curling up for a nap. 

"What's your dad like?" Cody asked. 

"Oh, he's a great guy. He picked out Growlithe for me when I started out on my pokemon journey." 

"You said your dad was a policeman, right. Was he..?" 

"It was stupid. He was just getting off work, and a drunk driver hit his car as he was getting in. It wrecked his knee, so he had to retire. Is your dad a police officer?" 

"He...was..." 

Kyle blinked for a second, then it sunk in. "Oh, Cody, I'm sorry..." 

Cody shook his head. "It's alright. You didn't know." The two sat in awkward silence for a minute. Then, "Hey, Kyle?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Could you tell me more about him?" 

==About a mile off (as the Biyomon flies...) 

Sneasel could just make out the two humans and their...creatures working at repairing the city. And, as Arukenimon had commanded, that would just not do. The pokemon pulled a silver thread from her fur, and threw it at the nearest control spire. There was a sickly white glow, as the inert structure shrank, twisted, and reformed into a white four legged creature. 

Sneasel addressed the creature. "Monochromon, prepare to attack the city. Leave nothing standing, digimon, human, or structure." She paused a second, then added "The young brat is yours, I have a score to settle with the older of the two. Now, GO!" Roaring, Monochromon charged towards the city, destruction on its artificial mind. Sneasel paused a second, focussing her energy. 

"Sneasel, digivolve to...Lynxmon!" Lynxmon, all black and red fire, headed towards the city also, easily overtaking the slower digimon. She had special plans for Kyle. 

== 

Onix and Marowak had decided to get back to work; there were still a few areas that needed clearing, and they were best equipped to handle it. 

However, as the two pokemon worked, they were unaware of the shadow of red and black that was stalking them. It moved closer, readying a strike. 

~THERMAL MANE!~ The blast of flame knocked out Marowak quickly; only its innate toughness prevented serious harm. Unconcious, it fell down. Onix turned to face the attacker, but was quickly broadsided by a large, white and grey digimon. The second attacker launched a fire attack of its own, though it did little against Onix' rocky hide. 

"Fool!" Lynxmon barked at Monochromon, "He's strong against fire. Let me handle it. WILD NAIL RUSH!" The attack, impossibly powered up, knocked Onix out as well. "Now, if I know that idiot trainer, he should be showing up right about....now." 

On cue, Kyle, Cody, Digmon, Eevee, and Machop came running up. "Onix! Marowak!" Kyle cried, seeing his pokemon fainted. 

"It's Lynxmon!" Cody said, pointing at the attacking digimon. "But I don't see a control ring on her! Or on that Monochromon!" 

"Figure it out later!" Kyle snarled. "Eevee, go!" There was a flash, and Eevee digivolved to Flareon. He recalled Onix and Marowak. "You're going to pay for that, Lynxmon!" 

~Let's dance, lady~ Flareon barked, and charged after Lynxmon. 

~By all means, follow me!~ Lynxmon replied, running off. 

Flareon blinked. ~Did she...?~ Shaking his head, he dismissed it, and ran after her. 

=== 

Flareon and Lynxmon dashed off, distancing themselves from the main battle. ~Why are you doing this?~ Flareon barked. ~The Emperor's gone!~ 

~Because,~ Lynxmon replied in Flareon's own language, ~the 'Emperor' was just a tool. My master is much more powerful than that idiot.~ Lynxmon reared back, firey body turning a deep, blood red. ~Now it's your turn. THERMAL MANE!~ 

Flareon dodged the initial flame burst; being a fire type himself, he wasn't too worried about the attack. ~You call that a fire attack? FIRE SPIN!~ The flame vortex caught Lynxmon, who stood impassively as the attack failed to do any damage. 

~And that was supposed to...?~ 

She's strong, Flareon thought. ~I guess it's the old ways then~ he said, readying an attack. 

~Fine by me. NAIL RUSH!~ 

~TAKEDOWN!~ The two monsters battled for several seconds, neither gaining any real advantage over the other. 

~What's wrong, firebug? Can't fight without your trainer? Or have you been in the League so long you've forgotten what a real fight's like?~ 

~You...know about...?~ 

~I know all about your 'pokeworld', fool. I'm sure there are a million trainers like Ken there, waiting to be unleashed. Maybe they'll even create some new monsters for you to play with.~ 

Flareon was stunned. This digimon KNEW about his world. And about... 

Lynxmon took the opening, catching Flareon with a vicious tackle, knocking the wind out of his lungs. ~You're getting sloppy. This will be easy.~ 

Flareon recovered, readying another attack. ~FLAMETHROWER!~ 

The blast of flame caught Lynxmon, who ignored it. ~What are you trying to-~ Flareon used the distraction to close and clamp his teeth on Lynxmon's tail. Yanking, he hurled the digimon into a wall, stunning it. 

~You're right, that WAS easy~ he said, triumphantly. ~And don't bother with that playing Snorlax routine. Gatomon told me all about it!~ 

== 

"Will Flareon be alright?" Cody asked worriedly. 

"Yeah. He's an experienced fighter, plus he's fast enough to keep up with her" Kyle replied. 

"I think we should be worrying about us right now." Digmon said, sizing up the Monochromon advancing on them. "Should I attack?" 

"Uhh....He's not being controlled, shouldn't we just try to drive him away?" 

"Works for me. Machop, you up to it?" Machop nodded, cracking her knuckles. Machop and Digmon advanced on Monochromon. 

"Volcano Strike!" A flurry of fireballs flew from Monochromon's mouth at the two. They dodged, but the attack slammed into one of the buildings behind them, damaging it. 

"Digmon!" Cody called. "Try to get Monochromon away from the city! At this rate, we'll have to rebuild the whole city!" 

"Machop! Try a Seismic Toss!" 

Machop ran around the attacking digimon, and grabbed it by the tail. Amazingly, Machop was able to swing it around twice, but it was too heavy for Machop to get any momentum for the Toss to be truly effective. Plus she wound up tossing it into another wall. ~D'OH!~ Machop said. 

"An opening's an opening" Digmon said. "Rock Cracking!" A tear in the surface of the earth shot towards the building, collapsing it on Monochromon. "That ought to hold him for a while." A roar came from the rubble after a few seconds. 

"You HAD to jinx it!" Kyle said. 

Monochromon roared again, charging. He caught Digmon, sending him flying into a wall. He glowed, and reverted to Armadillomon. "Armadillomon!" Cody cried, running over to his partner. Monochromon, seeing the opportunity to eliminate two opponents, charged again. 

"CODY!" Kyle yelled. "MACHOP, STOP THAT DIGIMON WITH ROCK SMASH!" 

"MAAAAAAAAA-CHOP!" the superpower pokemon jumped onto Monochromon's back, and let the digimon have it with a flurry of powerful punches. His attacks did little damage, but it did give Cody enough time to get clear.   
However, Monochromon was thrashing around by this point, and knocked Machop off. The pokemon staggered up, dazed by the impact with the ground. 

"Machop! Look out!" Cody's warning was an instant late; Monochromon's tail slapped Machop across the back, knocking her down. Kyle called Machop back. 

"We'd better get out of here" Kyle said. 

"I can still fight" Armadillomon said, trying to get out of Cody's grasp. 

"No, we should get the others. All my pokemon are out, and you're in pretty rough shape too" Kyle said. Armadillomon's reply was cut off as Monochromon roared, and charged the group. 

"That's it!" Armadillomon yelled, squirming out of Cody's arms. He charged the attacking digimon, rolling up into a ball. "Diamond Shell!" Armadillomon slammed into Monochromon, though the Champion level digimon gave no notice, still advancing on Cody and Kyle. Armadillomon hopped up, and started hammering on the area Machop had been attacking earlier. Already weakened, Monochromon's hide began to crack under the assault. 

*That* got his attention. Howling in pain, Monochromon thrashed furiously, throwing Armadillomon off. Monochromon charged again, intent on stampeding the Rookie level digimon. 

"ARMADILLOMON!" Cody yelled. Simultaneously, his digivice began beeping, and glowing an alarming shade of yellow...moments later, Armadillomon did the same! 

"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!" 

"A....Armadillomon?" Cody stammered. 

Monochromon, unable to stop, hit Ankylomon head on, and bounced. 

"I am Ankylomon, a Champion level Digimon. My skin is tougher than a battleship, and my Megaton Press attack will flatten any enemy that stands before me." Ankylomon turned to face the attacking Monochromon. "And as for you...TAIL HAMMER!" Ankylomon's spiked tail swung around, and glanced off the side of Monochromon's torso. The already weakened area splintered, cracked, and shattered, revealing an expanse of blackness! 

"What the?" Kyle said, stunned. "Is that a Digimon?" 

"RAAARRRR! VOLCANIC STRIKE!!" A hail of fireballs shot at Ankylomon, but did little damage. Then, discarding Ankylomon as being too dangerous, Monochromon turned on Cody and Kyle! "Volcanic Strike!" 

"CODY!" Ankylomon yelled. "MEGATON PRESS!" Ankylomon jumped up, body slamming Monochromon. Flattened, the Digimon's outer shell discorporated, shattered into countless small black fragments, then disintegrated.   


"Ahhhh.....Ankylomon....you...." Cody stammered. 

Ankylomon glowed, and reverted. "I'm sorry Cody" Armadillomon said sadly. "It all happened so fast..." 

"It looked like a digimon, but inside..." Kyle said, thinking out loud. 

"What do you mean?" Cody asked. 

"Well, I've done some patching up of digimon in the past, and I think I'd recall big black insides. There's something weird going on here." He paused, noticing Cody and Armadillomon's expressions. "Alright, WEIRDER." 

== 

This is taking too long, Flareon thought to himself. I don't know how much longer I can hold my evolved form. From Lynxmon's wicked grin, he could tell that she knew the same thing. 

~Ready to give up?~ Lynxmon asked sarcastically. ~I can make it quick. Painful, but quick.~ A shudder passed through Lynxmon. "THAT FOOL!" she shouted without thinking. "Time to finish you off. WILD NAIL-" 

"THUNDER BLAST!" A blue sphere of electricity slammed into Lynxmon, knocking her sideways. Raidramon, Davis riding him, appeared beside Flareon. "We late for the party?" Raidramon growled. Flareon relaxed a bit. 

Lynxmon staggered to her feet. Raidramon had shown up, the others must have gotten a message off, she mentally berated herself. I KNEW I should have picked a different digimon to create... "You got lucky, pup, but I'll finish you next time!" Lynxmon ran off. 

"Guess we showed her!" Davis said. 

=== 

Several minutes later, all the digidestined had gathered. Kyle's pokemon were all unconcious, but OK; they'd need a few hours at the pokemon center. Davis had arrived last, Raidramon and Flareon hopping over a low wall to reach the others. 

"Hey, Kyle! You lose this?" Davis yelled. 

"Flareon! You alright?" Flareon nodded, reverted to Eevee, and leaped into Kyle's arms. "It must have been some fight. You OK?" 

Eevee sighed, relaxing. "Yeah, thanks. I..." Eevee noticed everyone, Kyle in particular, was staring at him. "What? What's..." Eevee's ears twiched, as his own words reached his ears. 

"AHHHHH!!! I'M SPEAKING HUMAN!!!" 

===Two nights later, Human World. 

Izzy was walking Kari home after a wonderful time at the concert. "So, how's Cody?" Izzy asked. 

"He's a bit better now. He's still a bit uneasy after that battle with Monochromon. About the same as we were when we were fighting the Dark Masters," Kari replied. "How about Kyle?" 

Izzy chuckled a bit. "He's fine. His pokemon are well, and Eevee's talking up a storm. It seems that talking pokemon are a bit of a rarity on his world." He didn't mention what Kyle said about what Eevee had told him. He didn't want to ruin the night for Kari. Not with potentially disastrous news... "Well, we're here." Izzy said. 

"That eager to get rid of me?" Kari asked, smiling. 

"NO! NEVER! Ahh....that is...." Izzy started stammering again, trying to salvage some semblance of his dignity. 

"Relax, I'm just kidding." Kari said gently. Why is he getting so nervous? He's acting like Davis, almost....nahhh, couldn't be. "I had a wonderful time, Izzy. Thank you." She gave Izzy a kiss on his cheek, and went in. "Good night!" 

"Uh....good night..." Izzy said. It took him a minute to remember how to walk, but he managed to make it home. 

Across the street, Tai and Matt watched the two. "Well, it took him long enough," Matt said. "You OK with this, Tai?" 

"Sure. Well, I guess I'd better get in." 

"Ah, Tai?" Matt held out his hand, palm open. Growling, Tai placed a small wad of bills in it. "Feel free to place another bet anytime." Chuckling, he left for home. As he left, Tai had one thought going through his mind: 

NOW what do I get Sora for her birthday? 

As for Matt: 

Now I can get Mimi that hat she always wanted... 

==Pokeworld, near Cerulean City 

Arukenimon studied a small, oval object. It was white, and had a series of jagged red streaks along the bottom half. 

Sneasel looked at the object curiously. "What is it, mistress?" 

Placing the egg in a small hollow, Arukenimon allowed a small, evil laugh. "Just something I picked up on the Net a few years ago. What is the status of Larvitar?" 

"He is regaining his strength. However, it will require several control spires to modify him as you request, and it will take time." 

"No worry there. Once this little present hatches, those digidestined fools will have too much to worry about." 

Next Episode:   
A trip to Celadon City turns bad as Yolei is caught up in a hostage situation staged by Team Rocket. Can she escape? And what is Ken doing there? Next, on Digimon: Digicross TV series 11:   
"Wormmon Beyond!"   
  



	11. Wormmon Beyond!

Wormmon Beyond! Author notes: OK, I've been bugged about this, so:   
"" - human speech   
~~ - pokemon speech   
:: - telepathy   
-- thoughts (to oneself) 

Oh, and the robotic Venusaur is not my idea; it appeared in the Viz Pokemon comics (Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, IIRC). Credit where it's due... 

Digimon Digicross TV series episode 11   
"Wormmon Beyond!" 

DigiCross TV series theme song (Courtesy of Prima...READ HER STORIES!) 

It's a whole new world to explore!   
DigiCross series.   
(do do do do do do,   
do do do do do do)   
Everyone wants to destroy more Spires   
Everybody wants to show their skills.   
Everybody wants to stick with fliers   
Fly or climb to the top of that hill.   
Each time You duel!   
Your fighting knack gets a little bit better.   
With each Battle!   
You're one more step up the ladder!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale, with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
Everybody wants to voice their feelings   
Everybody wants to do their part   
Everybody wants to finish these dealings   
Take their place when the battle starts.   
Give it all You've got!   
You might beat one of the smartest ever.   
Take your Best shot!   
All you've learnt will come together!   
It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale,   
with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta   
catch 'em all   
And do the best that   
he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new world   
to explore... (Explore, explore, explore, explore...)   
It's a whole new place   
to see... (To see, to see, to see..)   
It's a new locale, with   
a different outlook... (Outlook, outlook, outlook...)   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do.   
(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
DIGICROSS SERIES! 

==Near Lavender Town 

A laptop glowed, and Ken and Minomon appeared. "Where are we? This doesn't look like the Digital World" Ken wondered aloud. 

:It is not: a voice echoed in his mind. :This is what the other digidestined refer to as the Pokemon World, as opposed to the Digital World that you tried to conquer, and the Human World that is your home.: 

"Who...?" 

A figure stepped into Ken's view; about his height, covered in light purple fur. Long tail too, curved up. Very intelligent, from his look. 

"Welcome to my world, Ken Ichijouji and Minomon" the creature said. "I am Mewtwo, and we have much to discuss." 

==Stone Town Pokemon Center 

The computer glowed for a moment, then Kyle, Tai, Yolei, and their partner digimon (or pokemon, in Kyle's case) appeared in the Stone Town Pokemon Center. 

"Well, I'm off!" Yolei announced immediately. 

"You sure about this?" Tai asked. 

"Hey, you heard Kyle! If parents on his world can sent 10 year old kids charging around without supervision, then it should be OK for me to do some sight seeing!" 

"Well, yeah..." Kyle said slowly. "Look, just be careful, OK? It's not all fun and games." 

"No need to worry" Hawkmon said. "I shall keep her out of trouble." 

"Oh, how much trouble can I get into? I'm just going to Celadon City to see what the shopping's like!" The two boys sweatdropped at that. "Well, I'm off! See you at the train station in a few hours!" Yolei headed off to the Magnet Train station. 

"Just try not to go broke" Tai said weakly. Straightening up, he faced Kyle. "OK, look, this is probably the most important mission you've ever undertaken as a member of the digidestined..." 

"Tai, I SAID I'd help you get a present for Sora. Geez, why didn't you get a gift earlier?" 

"I had money troubles!" 

== 

While the two boys argued, Yolei quickly skipped down to the Magnet Train station. She was in luck; there was a train leaving in the next few minutes, and her bank card worked fine in this dimension. 

"Yolei, are you sure about this?" Hawkmon asked quietly, trying not to attract attention. 

"Quiet, willya? Kyle said talking pokemon aren't that common here." 

"I'm just worried that we might get into something we can't handle; this isn't your world, or the Digital World for that matter. We have no idea what kind of customs might exist here!" 

Yolei responded by clamping a hand over Hawkmon's beak. Losing her temper a bit, she half shouted "I said KEEP IT DOWN!!" Unfortunately, the scuffle drew attention. 

One young trainer walked up tot he two. "Um...excuse me..?" 

Yolei stopped, hand still wrapped around Hawkmon's beak. "Uh...yeah?" 

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to trade pokemon; I'm trying to become a Flying type expert, and I think I can give your pokemon a good home." He paused for a second. "What kind is it? It doesn't look like any Pidgey I've ever seen." 

"Oh..well" Yolei started, but Hawkmon struggled out of her grasp. He then realized that the trainer was still staring at him. -I need to put him off- Hawkmon thought to himself. 

"Er...Hawk! Hawkmon Hawk Hawkmon!" He managed to drown out Yolei's groaning. 

==Near Lavendar Town 

Ken was having a day full of surprises. First, the revelation that one of his 'enemies' was actually from a different world. Second, This world that Kyle and his creatures...'Pokemon' Mewtwo said they were called (why was that name familiar?). And now... 

"You tried to take over this world?" Ken asked, half incredulous. 

"Do you doubt I could, if I desired?" Mewtwo replied. "My psychic powers exceed most, if not all other pokemon abilities. I could," he said, his aura flaring a bright blue for a second, "but I will not. What drove me to such actions no longer exists within me." 

"What drove you...?" 

"Yes. That pain that causes one to rage at the world, and seek to control it. For me, it was a lack of purpose in my life; I was created as a test animal, something to be used, so I sought to use the world to my end. I was brought around by the actions of one boy. I sense you had a similar experience." 

"Actually," Minomon said, "it was a small group." Ken flushed a bit at that. 

Mewtwo smiled. "I see. I can sense a force in you, enhancing those dark feelings. With your permission, I will try to remove it." Ken nodded, and Mewtwo raised his hands. "You may feel some discomfort." The pokemon directed a flow of psychic energy into Ken. Ken grimaced, than began shuddering as pain wracked his body. 

"Stop it, you're hurting him!" Minomon yelled. 

Mewtwo withdrew. "I apologize for that. It seems that whatever is in there cannot be easily removed, at least, not without doing major damage. You may take solace in the fact that whatever it is, feels inert, and its hold has weakened." Mewtwo sorted through the sensations he had felt, then stopped, ears twitching. He looked at Ken curiously. "You have been here before" he said flatly. "I saw a...familiarity with elements of this world." 

"I have?" Ken asked. "Minomon, did I ever..?" 

"I'm not sure, Ken. I lost a lot when I was reformatted." 

"An interesting puzzle, I..." Mewtwo paused, looking up at the sky. "Something is going to happen. Ken, Minomon, you must head to Celadon City, one of the other digidestined is in danger." The psychic pokemon stepped back, and held his arms out towards Minomon, hands glowing bright blue. 

"Whu....Ken, my energy....Minomon, digivolve to...Wormmon! Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!" 

"You...digivolved?" Ken asked, stunned. 

"I boosted the energy within him" Mewtwo said. "But I do not know how long it will last. I suggest the two of you go now." Ken and Stingmon nodded, and were airborne within a few seconds, headed towards Celadon. 

A few minutes later, Mewtwo heard the rustle of an approaching figure. "Are you sure about this?" 

"I am" Bryan Chevalier said, stepping into view. "I can't track Arukenimon's movements when she is in this world, and she's been too busy in this world for my liking." 

"And what is her interest in this world? Or yours, for that matter?" Mewtwo asked, suspicious. 

"As I said, I don't know her interest. As to mine, is it important? Isn't my desire to help enough?" 

"I prefer to know everything, *Baihumon*. Talk." 

'Bryan' grunted. "My secret's out." He looked up at the sky, watching as a Fearow flew by. "In a way, it's my fault your world is involved..." 

===Celadon City, in a (formerly) quiet corner 

"Hawkmon hawk hawk?!? THAT was the best you could come up with?" 

"I am sorry Yolei, but they don't teach pokemon impersonation in the Digital World" 

"Couldn't you have just squawked, like any normal bird?" 

"Excuse me, but I do not 'squeak', as you so crudely put it." 

"Oh, never mind." The two walked up to a small park area, with a large sign stating 'Celadon Outdoor Fair' and a smaller sign announcing free admission. "Hey, this looks like fun. Come on!" 

"I have a bad feeling about this" Hawkmon groaned, mentally tossing out the whole 'keep a low profile' thing Kyle and Yolei had discussed earlier. 

Inside the park, there were several tents set up, each housing vendors, performers, and such; the type of thing one would see at outdoor fairs in any dimension. Yolei and Hawkmon stayed for a while at one stall, where a trainer led a pair of pokemon through a complex series of dance routines. The trainer (Yolei found out her name was Bailey) had come from the Johto region, and was headed to some place called Indigo Plateau for a big demonstration and contest. 

After about a half hour of wandering, Hawkmon whispered to Yolei "I sense a trend here." 

"If you mean this is all pokemon, who couldn't notice?" 

A loud crashing of brush ended further discussion. From the trees, a large metallic pokemon appeared, easily the size of a large van. It was oddly shaped, having no apparent wheels. Tank-like treads could be seen under the four 'feet', and the body was bluish, with what looked like a palm tree on top. Above the painted on mouth, there was a window, where three figures sat. 

"Prepare for trouble!"   
"And Make it double!"   
"To protect the world from devastation"   
"To unite all people within our nation"   
"To denounce the evils of truth and love"   
"To extend our reach to the stars above"   
"Jessie"   
"James"   
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"   
"Surrender now or prepare to fight"   
"Meowth, that's right!" 

"Now," Jessie announced, apparently unaware the PA system was still on, "which should we grab first, the pokemon, or the food?" 

"How about a bathroom?" Meowth groused. 

"Meowth, keep your mind on business" James snapped. "Oh, wait, I left the speakers on." 

(Animation note: Parkwide facefault) 

"It must be those Team Rocket fellows Gatomon told us about" Hawkmon said. "Should we fight?" 

Yolei nodded, pulling out her D-Terminal. "Digiarmour Energize!" 

"Hawkmon, armour digivolve to...Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity!" The armoured warrior wasted no time in leaping to the attack, freeing several pokemon that the robotic monstrosity had seized in its metallic tentacles. "Get clear, I'll deal with the tin toad over there." 

The three Rocket members were stunned by Shurimon's appearance. "What kind of pokemon is THAT??" Jessie yelled. 

"The heroic kind. Double Star!" Shurimon's attack shattered the front window, forcing the three rockets to jump out. 

'We're not going to stand for that! Arbok, GO!" Jessie reached for her pokeball containing the pokemon she called out. Unfortunately, her hand hit her other pokeball, releasing... 

"WOBUFFETT!" The blue pokemon called, appearing. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT??" 

While the two bickered, Shurimon decided to end the battle right there. "Double Star!" The two metallic stars shot at the trio, James and Meowth expecting to be Blasted Off Again... 

"Wobuffett, Counter Attack!" The pokemon glowed a bright blue, activating its power. Shurimon was shocked to see his attack stop a few inches short of the pokemon, and come shooting right back at him! The twin throwing stars struck Shurimon, knocking him backwards and, having been rendered unconscious by the attack, reverting him to his Rookie level of Hawkmon. 

"Hawkmon!" Yolei ran over to her partner, gathering up the unconscious digimon. As she did, the Rockets got back in their vehicle, and got ready to make a run for it. 

"We'd better get out of here" James said. 

"One sec" Meowth called back, operating a series of controls. "If that pokemon can evolve whenever it wants to, we'd better grab it for the boss while it's still nappin'! The boss will pay us a fortune!" 

"Then grab it before the police arrive" Jessie snarled. 

"Right! Vine nets AWAY!" A port in the side of the robotic pokemon opened, and fired a large net, capturing both Hawkmon and Yolei. As the two struggled to escape, Yolei failed to notice her D-Terminal fall out of her pocket. The net was reeled in, and the robotic Venusaur made its escape. 

===20 minutes later 

Ken and Wormmon walked into the park where Team Rocket had attacked; just before they had landed, Stingmon had spotted a series of police cars headed to this area and, remembering what Mewtwo had said, landed near the area. 

"Are you alright, Wormmon?" 

"I'm a bit weak, that's all. I don't know if I can digivolve again for a while." 

"That's OK" Ken said. "We should be alright for a while anyway" As he walked to the park, he was intercepted by a blue-haired police woman. 

"I'm sorry, but this is a crime scene, I can't let anyone in." Officer Jenny said. 

"What happened here" Ken asked. 

"There was an attack by Team Rocket. Several pokemon were stolen, and there were reports that a pokemon trainer was captured as well." 

Ken had a sickening sensation that he knew where this was going. "Someone was kidnapped?" 

Jenny nodded. "Yes. She had glasses, purple hair, and either one or two pokemon, there are different accounts. Some say it was a bird type, others say it was some sort of plant or fighting type." 

-Yolei, and Shurimon- Ken thought. "Her name is Yolei. I don't know her last name." 

Jenny blinked. "You know her? Is she a friend?" 

"It was an adversarial relationship" Wormmon said without thinking. Then, realizing what he did, said "um...Worm Wormmon Worm?" 

Officer Jenny blinked for a few seconds. "Did that pokemon just....?" 

Ken bowed his head. "It's a long story, and I don't think you'd believe it." 

A glint of metal caught the policewoman's eye. "Could I see that for a second" indicating Ken's digivice. She looked at it, and brightened. "Oh, you must be one of Kyle's friends! My sister's cousin in Stone Town told me to watch out for anyone with a device like this." 

Ken was trying not to pass out. -Kyle's...FRIEND??- he thought wildly. "Umm...I know him, yeah" he said uncomfortably. "And Yolei is one, too." 

Jenny looked surprised. "Oh, I see. Well, don't worry, we'll find her." 

A few minutes later, Ken was sitting on a bench near the park. Wormmon had asked him to stay there, while he ducked into the park and "checked something out", as the digimon had put it. Ken soon saw Wormmon coming back, a silvery rectangular box being pulled behind him. 

"What's that" Ken asked. AS he spoke, he recognized the object, but Wormmon replied anyway. 

"It's a D-terminal, what the other kids use to keep their digieggs in. Hawkmon won't be able to digivolve without it. When do we go find them?" 

"Go find them? Shouldn't the police go look for them?" 

"Ken," Wormmon said patiently, "we're the only ones who can find them. The other kids used their digivices to keep track of each other, there's no reason we can't look for Yolei on our own." Wormmon saw Ken wavering, and played his last card. "You said you wanted to make up for what you did as the Emperor; saving Yolei might be a good start." 

"Alright, let's get going." 

==Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse... 

Jessie and James sat at a table, going over their spoils. Arbok and Weezing were watching a door, from which muted shouts could be heard. "We actually did it, James! We actually pulled off a heist, and no twerp and his Pikachu to ruin things!" 

"Yes," James replied, "it is refreshing not to get zapped on a job. Where's Meowth?" 

"He's in with that girl we brought back; he seem to think he's connected to that other girl with the talking cat we ran into a while back." 

"Any luck" James asked, curious. 

At that moment, Meowth ran out of the room where Yolei was being kept, and slammed the door behind him, cutting off the girl's verbal assault. "That kid is nuts! She must be related to that red head that hangs around with the twerp." 

"There's a scary thought" Jessie deadpanned. 

Inside, Yolei calmed down. She had no idea why the cat was so interested in Gatomon, and venting her frustrations on him seemed the best way to relieve some of her frustration. Beside her, Hawkmon rested in a small cage. The digimon stirred, roused by the noise. 

"I take it you've been giving someone a piece of your mind?" Hawkmon asked. 

Yolei sighted. "We get captured by thugs, and a talking cat wants me to set him up with Gatomon. I'm going to have a long talk with Kyle about what he considers 'safe'." 

"I'm sure he didn't know about this." 

"How could he not know about crooks using giant robots!? And what's more, I lost my D-Terminal, so you can't digivolve, we're stuck here, no one knows where we are, and by the time anyone looks for us, they'll have moved out and taken us as hostages and we-" 

"YOLEI!" Hawkmon yelled. 

Yolei blinked, calming down. "Oh, sorry." 

"Ahem, first, I think a large robot could not stay hidden for too long, and these particular felons do not seem to intelligent. Second, I don't think we could fight our way out, even if I could digivolve, and third, I don't think we're alone." Hawkmon pointed to the window, motioning Yolei to keep quiet. Turning, the girl looked and saw...KEN?!?! The two stared at each other for a second, before Ken motioned for her to wait for a few minutes, then ducked out of sight. 

Keeping her voice down, Yolei said "Hawkmon, what's Ken doing here? Do you think he's responsible for this?" 

"I don't think so, Yolei. This doesn't feel like something he'd do; we'd better wait to see what happens." 

Outside, Ken sat down, back to the wall of the warehouse. "They're both in there, but the window's locked. Now what do we do?" 

"I can distract them" Wormmon offered. 

"No, I won't risk you getting hurt!" 

"I'll be fine Ken, really! All I have to do is distract them, you break the window, pass Yolei her D-Term, Hawkmon digivolves, and they break out. Simple." 

"When did you get so good at tactics?" 

"Well, I listened to all the plans you made." Wormmon didn't mention that Ken's plans never worked when he was the Emperor, at least, when dealing with the digidestined. 

"Wormmon, none of my plans against the digidestined ever worked." 

"Details, details. Just wait for my signal." Wormmon shuffled off. Ken sat there for a moment. He couldn't recall Wormmon so... 

confident? 

==1 minute later (Or 60 seconds. Your choice) 

The Rocket trio were preparing to move out. They only had captured a few pokemon, but the boss should be pleased to see what they had. As they gloated, they heard a knock at the door. "Meowth" James hissed, "Go see who it is!" 

The cat pokemon walked to the door. "Who's dere?" 

"Umm...Girl scouts?" 

Confused by the reference, Meowth opened the door. Bad mistake. 

"STICKY WEB!" A ball of webbing struck Meowth, knocked him over, and pinned him to the floor. Wormmon charged in, firing more web-nets at Arbok and Weezing. "Now, Ken!" 

Ken came running in, making a beeline for the room where Yolei and Hawkmon were being kept. As he ran, Wormmon tried to keep the attention of the three pokemon on him. Unfortunately, James recovered enough to send out Victreebel, and sent him to block Ken. 

The large plant pokemon screeched as it blocked Ken, the boy seeing no way around it. Then it attacked, stretching a long vine and using it as a whip. It caught Ken in the face, and he fell to one knee, partially stunned by the pain. Dimly, he could hear Yolei calling, trying to get out of the locked room. 

Inside the room, Yolei had managed to see Ken and Wormmon's attempt to get to them, only to be stopped by a plant like creature. "We have to get out of here!" She kept hammering on the door, as Hawkmon tried to get out of the cage he was still locked in. 

"Yolei, help me out of here, and I can break through the door!" The girl was not listening, however. As she watched, horrified, Victreebel wrapped Ken in one of its vines, and lifted him up, squeezing the life out of him! 

"KEN!" 

Ken groaned, the crushing pain keeping him conscious. "I...I've failed..." 

Wormmon was knocked into the wall near where Victreebel was squeezing Ken. Ken! Don't give up!" Wormmon was about to say more, but Arbok slammed into him, knocking the digimon unconscious. 

"Wormmon!" Ken began to struggle. As he did, he noticed the bulge of the D-Terminal in his pocket. When asked later, Ken couldn't explain why he did what he did; perhaps Mewtwo planted the idea in him, or having seen the other digidestined defy the Emperor's ban on digivolution made him want to try it... 

"DIGIARMOUR ENERGIZE!" 

For a long second, nothing happened, and Ken almost gave up. Then the D-Terminal started beeping, and one of the digieggs appeared! 

"Yolei," Hawkmon said, still in the cage, "what's happening?" 

"Ken activated the digiegg of Sincerity." Yolei breathed, hardly able to believe the sight. The egg hung there, then glowed again and flew -into- Wormmon. 

"Wormmon, armour digivolve to...Nohemon, Pure-heated archer!" The digimon was humanoid, but looked for all the world like a scarecrow. A black bird perched on its back, and a bow was in its left hand, a quiver of arrows on its belt. The bird seemed to glow for a second, then changed shape, the beak lengthening, the feathers on its head forming what looked like a broad-brimmed hat. The crow, or, more accurately, Murkrow, cawed loudly, challenging the attacking pokemon. 

Arbok attacked first. Nohemon stopped for a second, then the bird lifted off and attacked, pecking and clawing at the snake. While this happened, Nohemon pulled an arrow out, and fired at the vine holding Ken. The arrow only grazed Victreebel's vine, but the pain caused it to let go. Ken feel to the floor, and scrambled over to the scarecrow-like digimon. 

"You...digivolved?" Ken asked, still unable to believe what happened. 

"Yes" the voice, almost faint, replied. "Free the others, I'll hold off the attackers." the digimon turned back to face Arbok and Weezing, keeping them back with the threat of several well-aimed arrows. 

Ken pulled at the lock, and opened the door. "Yolei! Are you alright?" 

"Aaahhh......yes" -Why am I so nervous?- Yolei wondered. -Because he saved your life, and he's cute-, another part of her said back. -But he's the Emperor- she argued back. -Was. Now shut up and let him save you- "I can't get Hawkmon out of this cage. We'll have to carry him." 

Ken nodded, and the two picked up the cage, and carried him out. As they exited, Ken saw that Nohemon had handled the attackers well. Victreebel was unconscious, Arbok was on the floor, with what looked like a black eye, and the bird that Nohemon had sent off was harrying Weezing. There was no sign of Meowth, Jessie, or James. "The other captured pokemon are over there, we'd better free them too." Nohemon indicated another table where cages similar to the one Hawkmon was in sat, with several pokemon sat watching the fight. Ken and Yolei dragged the cage over and, finding the keys there, opened the cages, setting the captured pokemon, as well as Hawkmon, free. They didn't notice the bright red recall beams that enveloped Arbok, Victreebel, and Weezing.   


All the cages opened, Ken, Yolei, and Hawkmon got ready to leave, when a loud crash was heard. Looking in the direction of the noise, they saw the robotic Venusaur start up, and roll ominously towards them. "Get out of here, NOW!" Nohemon said, getting ready to fire. "I'll try to stop that thing." 

"I'm well enough to fight" Hawkmon insisted. 

"No, it's too risky. If I can get close, I can take out those treads it's moving on, and the police can deal with them. GO!" Hawkmon nodded, and he, Nohemon's Murkrow, Ken, and Yolei made their way out. 

Outside, they heard a series of crashes and explosion, and then the entire warehouse exploded. The Murkrow shrieked, fell over, and reverted to Wormmon, digiegg of sincerity appearing beside him. 

Ken picked the digimon and the egg up. "What happened?" 

"It was too strong, that robot beat Nohemon. I'm fine, though; the bird is my true form, the archer is just a drone under my control." As they watched, the wall exploded outwards, and the robot appeared again. 

"I don't know what you did," Jessie's voice echoed, "but it's time to deal with you once and for all." As she spoke, a series of odd noises came from the robot. "Venusaur-bot, transform to...FIGHTER MODE!!" As the digidestined watched, the robot shifted shape, growing two legs, and becoming humanoid! "In this form, our robot can walk on two legs, and its attack power is tripled!" 

"Actually," James' voice said over the PA, "it's only doubled." 

"YOU SAID IT'D BE TRIPLED!!" 

"The original plans were lost with the prototype!" James replied, cringing. 

"Just get 'em!" Meowth cried. The giant robot strode towards them. "Fire the water cannon!" One of the robot's arms lifted up, exposing a large cannon on the underside. The cannon fired a powerful blast of water, which punched a hole in the wall just above the digidestined. 

"RUN" Yolei yelled. 

"They're getting away! Get the boid!" Meowth yelled. 

Between the confusion and Meowth's accent, James misheard the instruction. "Right, getting the boy!" 

"No, the BOID!" Rather than waste more woids...er, words, Meowth jumped out of his chair, tackled James, and the two started fighting. As the battled, several controls were damaged, and the robot began to tip over. Towards Ken and Wormmon. 

Hearing the robot behind him, Ken tried to turn to look, but tripped and fell. He hit his head and was stunned, unable to get clear of the falling robot. 

"KEN!" Yolei turned, and started running back towards the boy. 

"Yolei, what are you doing!?" 

"We have to save him, Hawkmon! Come on, hurry!" As she ran, she knew that she wouldn't make it in time, the robot was starting to fall now. -Please, someone save him!- she thought, not noticing that her digivice had started glowing... 

Hawkmon did notice, and felt a sudden rush of energy. "Hawkmon, digivolve to...AQUILLAMON!" The giant bird flew between Ken and the robot, grabbing the boy and his digimon, just before the robot crashed into the ground. Aquillamon wheeled around, and dropped Ken and Wormmon off by Yolei. 

"Ha...Hawkmon?" Yolei asked, barely able to speak. 

"Aquillamon, if you please. One sec while I deal with this oversized garbage can." 

As they spoke, Team Rocket managed to get the robot standing again. "Enough of this! James, arm the Solar Cannon" Jessie's voice cracked. A port in the robot's chest opened, revealing what looked like a satellite dish. The four large vanes on its back glowed, absorbing the sunlight. A small window with a crosshairs painted on it sprung up in front of James. 

"Firing chamber pressure at 60%" James reported. 

"All power to the Solar Cannon" Jessie said. 

"I beg to differ" Aquillamon said. "BLAST RINGS!" Aquillamon fired a series of ring shaped energy charges at the ground around the robot, kicking up large amounts of dust and debris. 

"We're losing power" Meowth yelled, watching the gauges fall. "All that dust is cuttin' off the sunlight! And that giant Pidgey looks like he's gonna ram us!" 

"That's silly Meowth! Birds don't tackle!" James yelled back 

"THIS ONE IS!" The three criminals looked out the viewport to find that Aquillamon had, in the confusion, taken to the air, and was diving straight at them, horns on his head glowing a bright red. 

"GRAND HORN!" The attack cut the robot in two, Aquillamon having punched a hole right through the robotic Venusaur's lower body. Almost comically, the two halves hung there, then dropped to the ground. There was an explosion, and the digidestined could see four figures hurtling through the air. 

"At least we got a bigger part this time!" Meowth wailed.   
"Let's go back to the Johto area, it's safer there!" James added.   
"Well, we're already on the way," Jessie cried, "because..."   
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!!"   
"Wobbuuuuufeeeettttt!!!" 

== 

"Umm...thanks..." Yolei said. "For saving my life and everything..." 

"I...that is..." 

"If I may interrupt" Hawkmon said, "perhaps you could give Yolei back the digiegg and D-terminal?" 

Ken blinked. "I forgot all about that. Here" he said, holding out the egg to Yolei. She reached to take the egg, when it glowed a bright white light. When it faded, there were two Digieggs of Sincerity! 

"What..." Ken stammered. 

"A second digiegg" Yolei breathed. 

"I guess that settles that" Wormmon said. "It was neat armour digivolving." 

"Well, you do wear it well" Hawkmon said. Yolei's digiegg vanished into her D-terminal, which Ken also returned. Sirens could be heard approaching. 

"I'd better be going" Ken said. "The others will probably be here soon, I don't want to cause any trouble." 

"Ken, wait" Yolei said, as Ken turned to leave. There was a flash as Wormmon digivolved to Stingmon, and the two flew off. "Ken..." 

"He'll be back. I definitely like this Ken better than the old Ken." 

"You don't suppose it was a trick, do you" Yolei asked uncertainly. "That he was just pretending?" 

"I don't think so; I doubt that Wormmon would not have been able to digivolve, or that second digiegg would have appeared if he was fooling." 

"I suppose." The two heard the sound of wings beating. Looking up, they saw Cyberarcanine flying in, Carrying Kyle, Tai, and Agumon. 

"That's it" The armoured pokemon complained. "Kyle, you're going on a diet!" 

"Yolei" Tai said, running over. "Are you alright? Cyberarcanine said he saw Stingmon leaving. Did Ken..?" 

"Ken saved me" Yolei said. 

===That night, Ichijouji residence. 

Ken lay on his bed, confused. Between saving one of his enemies, learning about a whole new world where humans and creatures like digimon lived together, and discovering a digiegg of his own, he had a lot on his mind. He looked at the digiegg, which he had placed on his dresser by his computer. 

"Ken" Minomon asked, worried. "Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, just confused. Why did I get a digiegg?" 

"It was probably your wish to save Yolei and Hawkmon. What's to worry about?" 

A knock came from Ken's door. "Ken dear," Ken's mother said, "there's a package for you." 

Ken sat up as the door opened. Minomon scurried under the blankets on the bed. "For me? From who?" 

"There's no name. Maybe you have a secret admirer?" Ken's mother smiled. "Don't worry, I won't pry or anything." Giving ken the small box, she stood up and left the room, closing the door. 

Minomon peeked out. "Well, open it. Maybe it's from one of the digidestined." Nodding, Ken opened the box, and pulled out a small, watch-like device. Attached to it was a note: 

'Ken,   
Thanks again for saving my life. You left by the time   
the others had gotten there. Kyle told me to tell you   
that the watch thingy is called a 'Pokegear', and it   
can function as a map, cellphone, and a radio.   
Call me sometime   
Yolei' 

Ken looked at the watch. The digiegg sitting on his desk glowed, then entered the Pokegear screen. "Like the D-terminals" he thought to himself. He spent a few minutes familiarizing himself with the device, when he noticed that there was a number entered on the cellphone list: 

'Inoue, Y. Call? [Y/N]' 

Ken's finger hovered over the 'send' button, unsure what to do next. 

==Pokeworld 

Tycho Jamison, 11 year old pokemon trainer from Cerulean City, wandered aimlessly through the surrounding forests. He had just started out, and his newly acquired pokemon, Squirtle, walked beside him. 

"We're gonna win a lot of matches, right Squirtle?" Tyco said confidently. 

"Squirtle!" the turtle pokemon gave Tycho a thumbs-up, matching his trainer's confidence. Then he tensed, sensing something. 

"What is it?" He followed his pokemon to a small hollow in a tree where a small white and red egg sat. "Woah...it's an egg!" Tycho picked up the egg, which began to vibrate. "It's hatching!" The shell cracked, separated, and revealed a small amoebae like creature with a single eyeball. "Is this a Ditto?" Tycho wondered. "What do you think, Squirtle?" 

"Squirtle? Squirtle Squirt." Squirtle shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to make of this unusual pokemon. 

"Well, whatever you are, you're mine now!" 

Next Episode: 

Davis and Veemon have to battle to save June and Elecmon from two of Arukenimon's artificial digimon. Meanwhile, in the Pokeworld, Kyle faces off for a Marsh Badge at the Saffron Gym. Next on Digimon: Digicross episode 12:   
'Veemon and Growlithe, Stage up!'   
  



	12. Veemon and Growlithe, STAGE UP!

Author notes: OK, I've been bugged about this, so:   
"" - Human speech   
~~ - Pokemon speech   
: - telepathy   
-- thoughts (to oneself) 

This version of Sabrina is from the manga series. If you haven't read that version, suffice it to say that Sabrina is a) MUCH nicer, b)Non-psychotic, and c) much better looking...so it goes 

DigiCross TV series theme song (Courtesy of Prima...READ HER STORIES!) 

It's a whole new world to explore!   
DigiCross series. 

(do do do do do do, do do do do do do) 

Everyone wants to destroy more Control Spires   
Everybody wants to show their skills.   
Everybody wants to stick with the fliers   
Fly or climb to the top of that hill. 

Each time   
You duel!   
Your fighting knack gets a little bit better.   
With each   
Battle!   
You're one more step up the ladder! 

It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale, with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do. 

(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do) 

Everybody wants to voice their feelings   
Everybody wants to do their part   
Everybody wants to finish these dealings   
Take their place when the battle starts. 

Give it all   
You've got!   
You might beat one of the smartest ever.   
Take your   
Best shot!   
All you've learnt will come together! 

It's a whole new world to explore   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a whole new place to see   
(do do do, do do do)   
It's a new locale, with a different outlook   
But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do. 

(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do) 

It's a whole new world to explore...   
(Explore, explore, explore, explore...) 

It's a whole new place to see...   
(To see, to see, to see..) 

It's a new locale, with a different outlook...   
(Outlook, outlook, outlook...) 

But Kyle's still gotta catch 'em all   
And do the best that he can do. 

(do do do, do do do)   
DigiCross series,   
(do do do, do do do)   
DIGICROSS SERIES! 

Digimon Digicross TV series episode 12   
"Veemon and Growlithe, Stage up!" 

"STRONG CARAPACE!" The rock shower hurled at Scizor and Marowak, who dodged the assault. 

Kyle shouted directions to the two pokemon "Scizor, power up with Swords Dance! Marowak, use your Bonemarang to keep that digimon busy!" Marowak threw his club at the big digimon, which did little more than distract Tortomon's attention from the red and silver bug pokemon. As Tortomon turned to face Marowak, Scizor spun, building up his attack power to the maximum. 

"Scizor, METAL CLAW!" Scizor's attack, pushed to it maximum power, seemed to hum as the steel pokemon's two claws cut an X shape on Tortomon's shell, stunning the attacking digimon. Scizor landed in front of Tortomon, turned to face the digimon, and readied a Hyper Beam. Marowak joined him, his bone club at the ready. 

Still dizzy, Tortomon staggered back to his feet. "Enough already, I give. Sheesh, I thought that boulder hurt." Grumbling, the digimon staggered away. Kyle recalled his pokemon, and went over to the reason he had been fighting Tortomon in the first place. 

"Davis? Veemon? You guys alright?" 

Veemon started to answer, but Davis cut him off. "Who asked you to butt in, Ellison?" 

Kyle blinked. "Whahh...?" 

"I said, WHO ASKED YOU TO BUTT IN? No one asked you to show up, so get lost already. I don't need you wrecking things any more than they already are!" Davis stalked off. 

"Davis, what'd I..?" Kyle didn't get much further, as Davis had broken into a run, and vanished into the woods, Veemon following him. Kyle stood there blinking for a few minutes before the rest of the digidestined arrived. 

"I heard shouting, what happened?" Gatomon asked. 

Kyle recounted what had happened, with TK nodding as if he knew where this was going. "I should have guessed" TK said when Kyle had finished. "Davis was trying to get Veemon to digivolve; having that Tortomon attack must have been part of his plan. I didn't think he'd go this far though." TK looked at Kyle. "Don't worry about it. He just needs time to cool off. And don't even think of apologizing to him." 

"Maybe I should-" Kyle started. 

"Maybe you shouldn't Kyle" June said. "Chasing after Davis will only make things worse, trust me. Besides, aren't you due at the Saffron Gym in a few hours?" 

"Huh? But this is more important than a gym match" Kyle protested. 

"And Davis' big sister is the best person for the job" June replied, winking. "I'll have things worked out by the time you get back." June snapped her fingers as Kyle started to protest again. "Yolei, TK, you know what to do." TK and Yolei slipped behind Kyle, grabbed the trainer by the arms, and dragged him back to the portal that Kari had opened, and tossed him in (rather unceremoniously). "Thanks" she said after Kyle had vanished. "I don't think we'd have gotten him to let it be. I wish he wouldn't take everything like it's his fault somehow." June turned to leave. 

"Are you going to need any help?" Yolei asked. 

"No, I'll go alone. There's nothing he can hide from me. Let's go, Elecmon!" 

== 

Arukenimon and Sneasel watched as Davis ran from the rest of the group of digidestined. "So, a little dissention in the ranks" she commented. 

"Shall we dispose of him? He is one of the ones our master said had to be destroyed." 

Arukenimon thought over what to do. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. Then she saw another of the children leave the group, the boy's sister as she recalled. "Two at once. This will be better than I expected." 

Sneasel hopped down from Arukenimon's shoulder. "I shall follow and create a monster to destroy them." 

"No. I want you to follow Kyle to your world, and deal with him. I'll handle the crybaby." Looking around, Arukenimon selected a control spire the digidestined had missed. "Spirit Needle!" 

The silvery thread merged with the spire, causing the evil structure to contort, reforming itself into a hulking, brutish digimon. 

"Impressive" Sneasel commented. 

"It had better be" Arukenimon replied. "We've been having one too many setbacks to date." Sneasel nodded, then closed her eyes. The pokemon started pixilated, if such a word can be used. Then she faded, passing between the dimensions to her former home. "You" Arukenimon said to the creature. "Follow the boy with the goggles and destroy him and his digimon." 

The beast grunted once, then left. 

==Pokeworld, Saffron City Pokemon Center. 

The screen glowed as the portal formed on it, spilling Kyle out. The shock of his landing triggered Growlithe's pokeball, causing the fire pokemon to appear in a flash of white light. "I can't believe they did that" Kyle said, rubbing his head. He got up, and crept to the door, wondering if anyone had seen his arrival. 

As he got to the door, it opened, revealing Nurse Joy. "For your headache" she said, handing Kyle two small white pills. "Sabrina will be ready in a few hours, though you can go to the gym as soon as possible." Nurse Joy smiled, and went back to her desk. 

Both trainer and pokemon blinked. "How did you know...I don't have a headache" Kyle stammered, walking to the front door. Without warning, it flew open, catching Kyle in the face. 

A young trainer, not more than 10, ran up to the desk. "Nurse Joy, my-" 

Nurse Joy stood up. "You challenged the Saffron Gym, your Rattatat is fainted, your Sandshrew paralyzed, and you can't wake up your Fearow. This way please." Nurse Joy led the other trainer out, as Kyle and Growlithe watched. 

"Did you..." 

Growlithe nodded. "It seems the rumors of psychic activity at Saffron are true. So, why'd you get the bum rush from the Digital World?" 

==Digital World 

"Davis! DAVIS, WAIT UP" Veemon yelled. The little digimon was as confused as anyone over Davis' behavior, and why he was running away from the rest of the group. As he stopped for a breather, he heard Elecmon and June behind him. 

"Where'd he go" June asked. 

"That way. I've never seen him like this. He's all mad and angry and he won't talk to me." 

June nodded. "Wait here. I'll see what's up." June ran ahead, intent on prying an explanation out of her brother. Elecmon and Veemon watched her go. 

"What got into Davis" Elecmon asked.   
  
"He was trying to help me digivolve. Guess it didn't work too well, huh?" 

"Well, unless you count Tantrum-mon over there" Elecmon replied. 

June quickly caught up with Davis, who had decided that he'd done enough running and was now sulking by a small stream. "What do you want" he asked sharply. 

June almost fired off an angry retort, but managed to stop before saying anything that might worsen the situation. "An explanation might be nice. Like why you were fighting that digimon in the first place, and why you blew up at my boyfriend!" 

Davis looked at June oddly. "Yeah, I figured you two were that serious. So you guys don't need me at all, do ya?" 

"What kind of question is that??" 

"An easy one" Davis replied. "Between TK and Izzy, I don't have a chance with Kari, Kyle's ready to be the whole TEAM, he's got so many monsters, and you're with him..." Davis took out his digivice. "Forget it. I'm quitting." 

Davis' digivice hit the ground. 

==Saffron City Pokemon Gym 

Scizor dodged, feinted, and landed a Metal Claw on the Mr. Mime. The two had been battling for the last few minutes, the battle going on longer than Kyle had expected. Although Scizor, being a Steel-type pokemon, was resistant to psychic attacks, Mr. Mime was able to add in several Fighting attacks, which Scizor had a hard time defending against. 

"Mr. Mime! Use your Dynamic Punch!" the psychic pokemon ducked a claw swipe, and struck Scizor with a blow that knocked the pokemon out. 

"Scizor is unable to battle" the referee said. "Round goes to Marcus. Kyle, do you wish to forfeit?" 

"Not this close to the finish! Growlithe, think you can handle it?" 

"Bring it on!" Growlithe replied. 

"Remember, he's psychic, so stay in close and don't give him a chance to concentrate." Growlithe nodded, and ran in. 

"It's a piece of cake now, Mr. Mime! Use your Psywave!" Mr. Mime glowed, and launched a psychic attack. 

"You'd better wave 'bye-bye' instead" Growlithe snarled. The puppy pokemon, remembering his battle against Espeon in Stone Town, feinted to the side, allowing the energy wave to pass him. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Growlithe ran in, teeth bared. 

"Growlithe, Take-Down!" Growlithe obeyed, knocking Mr. Mime down, and rolling the psychic pokemon over to limit his field of vision. Unable to see, Mr. Mime couldn't aim his attacks. Mr. Mime started to struggle, but Growlithe placed one paw on the back of the psychic's neck, growled, and let Mr. Mime feel the heat from the Ember attack that was building up. The psychic tapped the ground twice. 

"Mr. Mime forfeits. Round and Match to Kyle Ellison and Growlithe!" The two trainers recalled their pokemon, Mr. Mime into his pokeball, Growlithe back to Kyle's side. 

"That was a great match." Marcus said. 

"Thanks. You nearly had us with Mr. Mime. I forgot that they could use Fighting techniques." 

"Yeah, that's a common mistake. Too bad your Scizor's not gonna be around for the main event." 

"Well, a night at the Pokemon center and he'll be fine. And he's not my only pokemon." 

"Yeah," Growlithe said, "who needs steel when you got fire?" 

Marcus smiled. "I thought I heard you talk during the battle. You have a lot of potential, you just need to learn how to access it. Both of you, that is." 

"Huh?" Kyle and Growlithe chorused. 

"Sorry, Mistress Sabrina says I get too mysterious for my own good. Please, enter the main training room when you're ready." 

==Outside the Gym 

Abra picked his way around the gym, hoping to relax a little before the match. Sabrina felt there was something unusual about this next trainer, and Abra, ever in tune with his trainer, felt the same. As he wandered, he felt...something missing, a blank spot in the psychic emanations from the world around him. 

~Hello, Abra. Getting ready?~ 

Turning, Abra saw a pokemon he had only heard about. ~You are a Sneasel?~ 

~Very good. Did your finely tuned psychic senses tell you that?~ 

Abra tensed up. He didn't trust anything that he couldn't read. ~What do you want?~ 

~Oh, to wish you the best. And to make sure that you finish both pokemon and trainer in your battle today.~ 

~WHAT? Are you mad?~ 

Sneasel chuckled. ~No, but you will be. Spirit Needle!~ The silver thread shot into Abra's body, flooding his mind with a torrent of unusual sensations. ~You are mine, psychic pokemon, and you will obey. Until the match between you and Kyle Ellison begins, you will remember nothing of this. When you see the Growlithe belonging to Ellison, you will challenge him directly, and use the power I have infused you with to destroy both the pokemon and his trainer utterly.~ Sneasel backed off, and vanished into the forest. 

Abra blinked, and all memory of the encounter left him. He felt an odd disquiet, as if he had forgotten something, but dismissed it as pre-battle jitters. The mental call from Sabrina prompted him to return to the gym, and all thought of the hole in his memory left him. 

:Mistress,: Sneasel mentally sent across the dimensions, :it is done.: 

:Excellent.: 

==Digital World 

June stared at Davis, not believing what she had just seen. "Davis..?" 

"Forget it" Davis said. "I'm a lousy excuse for a digidestined, everyone thinks I'm a joke, I can't even make Veemon digivolve...You'd be better off without me." 

"WHAT??" 

Davis looked at his sister. "The only reason Veemon and I were fighting Tortomon was because I had this dumb idea about getting Veemon to digivolve-" 

"By putting yourself in danger?! You're right, that WAS dumb" June half-yelled. "What if you'd gotten hurt??" June watched as Davis' face went blank. "Oh for...it didn't even OCCUR to you?" June took a breath, calming herself down. 

"Well...no" Davis replied sheepishly. 

June sighed, not surprised by her brother's response. "Well, it does to me. Davis, no one's going to think any less of you if Veemon can't digivolve." She picked up Davis' digivice, and handed it back to him. 

Davis was about to reply, but Veemon's cry of "DAVIS!! A LITTLE HELP HERE!!!" cut him off. The two ran back to their digimon. 

==Saffron City 

Sabrina stood up as Kyle entered, smiled and bowed. "Hello Kyle. It is a pleasure to meet you." 

"Likewise, ma'am. Should we begin?" 

"Yes of...oh, of course, I agree completely." 

Kyle blinked, confused. "I'm sorry?" 

It was Sabrina's turn to blink. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was en rapport with Abra here. He and I can sense the power in one of your pokemon. I believe it to be your Growlithe. I think Abra would like to challenge it. Shall we say a one-on-one competition?" 

"Fine by me" Growlithe replied. "Kyle?" 

"Go to it." 

Marcus stepped up, taking the referee's position. "Then it's agreed, this will be a submission pokemon battle! The loser will forfeit one part to the winner for keeps!" Marcus stopped as both Kyle and Sabrina looked at him, mentally fitting Marcus for a straitjacket. "Sorry, saw it on TV somewhere" he said sheepishly. "Ahem. One on One battle, no time limit. At stake is a Marsh Badge. BEGIN!" 

"Go, Growlithe!" The puppy pokemon obeyed, charging towards the ring where Abra sat, apparently asleep. The fire built up, as Growlithe prepared a Fire Wheel, hoping to knock out the pokemon before its array of psychic attacks could be brought to bear.   


"Let's go AbRAAAAHHHHH!!!" Sabrina clutched her head and fell to her knees, apparently in great pain. Abra glowed a whitish-black colour, and changed shape into Alakazam! 

"He...bypassed the Kadabra stage" Kyle whispered. 

"No, he digivolved, I'm sure of it" Growlithe replied. Kyle blinked for a second, and realized that Abra's evolution to Alakazam was just like when Growlithe got hit with a control ring and evolved into an insane Arcanine! "FIRE WHEEL!" The wheel of fire streaked towards Alakazam, who deflected it with a shield of mental force. A second mental assault knocked Growlithe back to where Kyle was standing. "Kyle, I'd better digivolve." 

"Right. Digi-Armour-" Kyle got no further as a kinetic bolt slammed into him, knocking the D-terminal out of his hand, and hurling Kyle into the wall behind him, where he slumped unconscious to the ground.   


== 

"HYPER HEAT!!" The attacking digimon fired off a beam of pure heat, scorching the ground between Elecmon and Veemon. 

"What is that thing" Veemon yelled, ducking for cover. Where the heck was Davis? 

"His name's Cyclomon! I fought him when the Dark Masters were running the Digital World. What's he doing here?" 

"Kicking our butts! DAVIS!!" As Veemon yelled, Davis and June came into view. 

"We're here," June called, holding up her digivice. Davis did likewise. 

"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!" 

"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Flamedramon, the fire of courage!" Being faster, the armour digimon led the attack. "Fire Rocket!" Cyclomon blocked the attack with his almost comically over-muscled right arm. He then followed up by slamming said arm into Flamedramon's chest, sending the armour digimon slamming into a tree. Unconscious, Flamedramon glowed and reverted to Veemon. 

"Veemon!" Davis ran over to his partner, thinking to drag the unconscious digimon out of the fight. As he ran, Leomon tackled Cyclomon, trying to restrain the digimon. 

"Why are you doing this?" Leomon growled as he held Cyclomon back. "The Dark Masters are gone, the Emperor's power is broken, there's no reason to fight!" 

"Out...Of...My...WAY!" Cyclomon managed to grab one of Leomon's arms, and tossed the digimon off to one side. Leomon rolled, got ready to fight, then saw that Cyclomon was not following up the attack. Eyes widening, he realized what Cyclomon's intentions were. "Davis, RUN! He's after you and Veemon!!" Leomon jumped, grabbing onto Cyclomon. "I said RUN! June, find a portal and get them out of here!" 

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Davis protested, as June dragged him and Veemon off. 

"You saw what he did to Flamedramon" June said. "Just trust Leomon, he can handle it." June looked at her digivice. "I think there's a portal just ahead. I won't let anything happen to you, Davis, don't worry." 

"June?" 

June turned around, facing Davis. "Hey, I AM your big sister, I have to take care of you." 

==Saffron Gym 

Kyle and Growlithe writhed under Alakazam's psychic assault. Neither was able to move, either to launch an attack or summon help. 

:Kyle!: the young trainer 'heard'. 

"Sa...Sabrina?" 

:Kyle,: the voice of the gym leader echoed in Kyle's mind, :something's taken over Abra. We have to stop him!: 

-How?- Kyle thought back, hoping the gym leader could read what he was thinking. 

:Abra was right, I can sense the power of the bond you and your Growlithe share. You can use it to help stop him!: 

-I can't, I lost my D-terminal! Growlithe can't digivolve without it!- 

Sabrina absorbed what Kyle thought at her for a second. :Kyle, the bond you have is like the one you have with Eevee. You shouldn't need it to help Growlithe.: 

:ENOUGH!: Alakazam's mental voice shouted. :You die NOW, digidestined!: 

Sabrina's mental snarl could be felt. :You're forgetting who the trainer is!: Kyle felt as if his mind was yanked from his body, then he lost all sense of where he was for a moment. 

When he regained consciousness, he found himself standing on what looked like a stage, with virtually no lighting. "Where...where am I?" 

"It's a mental dimension" Sabrina said, appearing. "Alakazam can't reach us here, for a time." 

"Why are we here" Kyle demanded. "We have to get back-" 

"We will" Sabrina cut him off. "When we figure out why you won't let Growlithe digivolve." 

==Digital World 

"We're almost there!" June said, pointing to a small black box. "The portal's over here! Now we can-" June stopped in mid sentence. 

"What's wrong" Davis asked. 

Veemon hopped out of Davis' arms, and looked at the TV set. "It's been smashed! We're trapped!" As he spoke, a beam of pure heat shot over June's head, destroying a cluster of trees just beyond the ruined portal. Behind them, Cyclomon came charging out of the woods, coming straight at them! 

"SCATTER" Davis shouted, pushing June away from him. Cyclomon ignored the girl, and went after Davis and Veemon. Davis stumbled, Veemon came back to pull him up, but before the boy could move, Cyclomon was over him, massive fist ready to drop on him. 

"DAVIS!" Leomon's sword flew into Cyclomon's arm. Unable to look away, Davis saw Leomon's sword go though Cyclomon's arm, burying itself to the crosspiece. The surface of the arm cracked, then fell off, leaving a jagged black ruin just past Cyclomon's elbow. Leomon's sword fell to the ground. 

The artificial digimon felt no pain; it couldn't by design. Instead, Cyclomon looked over his shoulder at Leomon. It's orders were to destroy the boy and his digimon, but the girl and her digimon were becoming too much of a nuisance. Mind made up, Cyclomon attacked Leomon. "HYPER HEAT!" The beam of energy caught Leomon in his leg, as the digimon tried to jump clear. Leomon fell to the ground, leg numbed with pain. 

June ran over to her partner digimon. "Leomon!" She faced Cyclomon. "Leave us alone! We didn't do anything to you!" Unmoved, Cyclomon got ready to attack, wanting to remove the obstacles to his mission. 

Davis got up, tried to move towards his sister. He didn't have enough power to stop Cyclomon. 

He had to save his sister. "VEEMON! SAVE THEM!!" 

"Veemon, digivolve to...EXVEEMON!" 

==Saffron Gym 

Kyle looked around, bewildered by what he saw. In what looked like the front row of theater seats, Sabrina sat calmly, looking at the wall behind Kyle. Wondering what she was staring at, Kyle whirled around, looked at the blank wall, spun back, and said "what's going on here?" 

"I'm waiting for you, actually" Sabrina replied evenly. "I said I could sense the bond you have with Growlithe, but for the life of me, I can't understand why you didn't use it. Do you really care that little about him" she asked, trying to provoke Kyle. 

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN" Kyle roared. 

"That a trainer that does not make full use of a pokemon's talents and abilities is not a really proficient trainer" Sabrina went implacably on. 

"That....that's not true!" 

"Really? I picked out what you know about digivolving, and that you know it might be possible for Growlithe to digivolve again, so why haven't you tried? Let's see." Sabrina snapped her fingers, and the wall behind Kyle lit up, images being displayed. 

"That's...when I first came to the digital world" Kyle said. He watched himself stumble around, seeing the memories of his pokemon replayed in front of him. Then... 

"No...not this again!" As Kyle watched, he saw the dark ring hit Growlithe, his evolution to the insane Arcanine, and... 

"Stop...PLEASE! Don't hurt him!" 

"Did you do this?" Sabrina asked quietly. 

"No! But I should have expected it! I should have been more careful! Because of me..." 

"Because of you?" 

"Because of me, I had to watch as one of my best friends turned against me, and I had to watch as he was attacked and knocked out" Kyle said, voice filled with self-loathing. 

"And" Sabrina asked. 

"What do you mean, 'and'? If I hadn't put Growlithe in that position, he'd never have gotten hurt. It's because of that he can't evolve!" 

"Are you so sure of that? Wouldn't Growlithe have done what he did, even if he knew what would happen?" 

Kyle blinked. "Well...maybe..." 

"Listen" Sabrina said. "It's not enough to just like your pokemon and treat them well. If you don't trust them to make the right decision, you'll never truly bond with your pokemon. You have the strength. USE IT!" The theater seemed to ripple around Kyle, and suddenly shifted back to the gym. 

Kyle staggered to his feet, mind still being hammered by the psychic attacks Alakazam fired at the human. Growlithe was in roughly the same shape. "Hey, can you get up?" Kyle asked. 

"Yeah, but only if it's to...nail that Alakazam." Growlithe was panting with the effort of standing. "You ready?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, You can do it, Growlithe!" Kyle's digivice started glowing, and Alakazam relented in his attack, wondering where all this energy he could sense was coming from... 

Growlithe felt the wave hit, and rode it, feeling the energy revive him. And evolve him, too... 

"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!" 

== 

Sensing a new threat, Cyclomon wheeled around to face Exveemon. As the two digimon got ready to battle, Leomon recognized the digimon. "Exveemon" he breathed, "a champion digimon; his V-Laser is supposed to be able to punch through anything. But I thought he was a legend!" 

Cyclomon attacked reaching with his one remaining arm. Exveemon dodged the clumsy attack, then caught the attacker across the jaw with a right hook. Continuing the motion, he spun all the way around, knocking Cyclomon down with his tail. Snarling, the artificial digimon rolled away, staggered back, and fired his Hyper Heat at Exveemon. 

"V-LASER!" The two attacks met halfway, both beams of energy pushing against each other. Weakened by Leomon's attacks, Cyclomon's attack gave way first, the X shaped laser punching into Cyclomon's body. Cyclomon collapsed, inert. Grinning, Exveemon turned to face Davis. "So, what do ya think?" 

"Not bad" Davis said. Seeing motion, Davis shouted "Behind you!" 

Exveemon reacted instantly. He stepped forward, crouched, and grabbed Leomon's sword. Then, hearing Cyclomon's charge, the dragon digimon flared his wings, took the sword in both hands, pivoted and stabbed the blade into Cyclomon's torso. Horrified, June and Davis watched as the outer shell of Cyclomon exploded off him, leaving a black figure that was shaped like Cyclomon. The figure reared back, thrown off balance by the attack. 

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon's attack caught Cyclomon in the back, and the digimon shattered, the fragments de-resolving as they hit the ground. 

==Saffron Gym 

Arcanine reared back, rejoicing in the power that triggered his evolution. "Well, well. The legend is back." Kyle, similarly elated, had only one word: "GO!" 

Arcanine went, seeming to vanish for a second, reappearing right in front of Alakazam and knocking the psychic pokemon down. Alakazam recovered, and teleported a short distance back. Psychic energy built up, as the possessed pokemon readied a psibolt, pushed well beyond anything any other psychic pokemon was able to deliver. 

"Not this time" Arcanine yelled. "EXTREME SPEED!" The attack, which made Quick Attack seem like a slow crawl, hammered into Alakazam before he could finish forming the psibolt, knocking the psi pokemon into the wall. "That felt good." Noticing that Alakazam was trying to ready another attack, Arcanine decided to finish it, shouting "Fire Blast" and launching a wave of flame at Alakazam. 

The psychic pokemon, who had only managed to recover some of his energy and had time only to get the most rudimentary Reflect up, had no chance against the powerful flame attack, and collapsed, energy completely drained. The silvery thread came out of Alakazam's body, and the pokemon reverted to Abra, now unconscious. 

"Abra!" Sabrina ran over and gathered the small pokemon up in her arms. Looking back at Kyle and Arcanine, she smiled slightly and said "you found your link." 

"Will Abra be alright?" Kyle asked. 

Sabrina closed her eyes, concentrating. "Yes. He's weakened, a little scorched, but he'll be fine." 

"That's good" Arcanine said. "I hope I didn't get too carried away." 

"If you fight" Sabrina said, "fight to win. And you did, so here" Sabrina handed Kyle a gym badge. "You defeated my pokemon in fair combat, earning this Marsh Badge." 

"Fair?" Kyle said confusedly. "But..." 

"Hey, if Abra could evolve, then there's no reason Growlithe couldn't as well. Take it." 

Kyle bowed. "I accept. Thank you for everything." 

"Not at all. Remember, trust your friends!" 

==Digital World 

Ken and Wormmon inspected the remains of the shattered portal. "It was her, wasn't it?" Ken asked, pulling a silvery thread out of the television. 

"If you mean Arukenimon? Yes" Wormmon replied. "My recall is a bit fuzzy, but this does look like her work. Should we tell the others?" 

"You mean the other digidestined" Ken asked. "No. They wouldn't believe me." 

"You can't believe that" Wormmon said sharply. "I'm sure if you told them everything-" 

"No" Ken said. "This is my fault, Wormmon. Finding her and stopping her is my responsibility." Ken stood up, and started walking away. 

Wormmon hurried after his partner, jumping up into Ken's arms. "You mean it's our responsibility." 

== 

Some distance away, another portal glowed, and Kyle and Arcanine stepped out. "Relax" the pokemon growled. "I'm quite sane now." 

"That's a relief" TK said. "Davis, you had something to say?" As he spoke, June pushed her brother to the front of the group. Red-faced, Davis started to stammer out an apology. 

"Look, I was...uh....I'm sorry I kinda blew up at you." 

Kyle blinked. "Oh, sure no problem. I'm GRMF" Kyle's next words were stopped as June clamped a hand firmly over Kyle's mouth. 

"No you don't" June said. "Hearing my brother apologize is rare enough; I'm not having you ruin it by apologizing back!!!" Everyone started laughing, Davis too. 

==Pokemon World 

Tycho knelt over Tsumemon. "Are you alright? I didn't expect that guy's Spearow would be so tough." 

Tsumemon, still confused and unsure of its true nature, quivered slightly, letting out a quiet chattering sound. 

"Well, don't worry. I got something at the last pokemon center." Tycho held out a small cube, with some writing on it. "Neat huh? It's a TM, and I want to try it out on you." The boy looked over the instructions that came with the TM. "It says that this one teaches Giga Drain; that ought to help with your endurance in a fight." The trainer pulled the cube apart, splitting it into two halves, and held each half on either side of Tsumemon's 'head'. The digimon shuddered, as a surge of data flooded into it. 

After a few seconds, a small LED blinked green, indicating that the transfer was successful. "Alright!" Tycho said. "Now we need to find some pokemon to practice on!" As the boy checked his map, Tsumemon considered the new ability it had received. It felt the ability to drain energy. And it was starting to feel hungry... 

Next Episode: 

The first Digicross Movie! See how Eevee met Kyle in the short 'Eevee, I choose you!' And, in the main feature, The digidestined must face an enemy they all thought destroyed. How did Keramon get to the Pokeworld? Where did he take Tai? And who is the mysterious new digimon that can defeat this new menace? The Digicross Movie main feature:   
'Miracle Fusion! Diaboromon's Return!'   



	13. Digicross The Movie Miracle Fusion! Di...

Credit where its due:   
  
I didn't create Pokemon or Digimon. If I did, I'd be rich...so it goes. Thanks to those who did, and left enough plot holes open (coughcouch*digimon*cough) to inspire this little story.  
  
A lot of information came from Megchan's Digimon Sekai; It'll be missed.   
  
Prereaders: Anarin no Miko and Crystal Melin: If you're out there, reading this, let me know!  
  
DigifanAnon Mailing list: Where this whole thing got its start.  
  
Seth Turtle, Gullwhacker, Omicron, heck, pretty much everyone on the Sphere_tamers list: Inspiration in an Inbox. Gull, thanks for the name idea, it sounds WAY better then what I had planned.  
  
Everyone at Fanfiction.net who read this and told me it didn't suck as much as I thought it would. Thanks one and all.  
  
Musical inspiration from: Blues Traveler, Jim Byrnes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Barenaked Ladies, Weird Al, yes, even Billy Joel. And the Anime Intro Archive for getting that (censored) 'Hara Hara relay' song stuck in my head. Dancing Pichu....  
  
*Ahem* Farfetched Studios presents...  
  
"Digicross, the First Movie: Miracle Fusion! Diaboromon's Return!  
  
Digicross Movie short  
"Eevee, I choose you!"  
  
The digidestined in the restaurant, Kyle having lost a bet with TK and, as a result, owed everyone lunch. On the roof of the restaurant, Eevee stretched out, looking over Stone Town.  
  
"You coming in?" A voice from behind him said. Standing up and looking behind him, Eevee saw that it was Gatomon who had asked.  
  
"Nah, I don't get to see much of this town. Besides, the owner isn't to keen on having pokemon in the restaurant, after someone let a Snorlax loose in his kitchen."  
  
"Snorlax?" Gatomon asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's a big blue and white pokemon that's all stomach." Gatomon and Eevee laughed for a few seconds, both thinking immediately of Veemon. After a few minutes, Gatomon asked "Hey Eevee, what's it like in the Pokemon League?"  
  
"Huh" Eevee asked, caught unaware by the subject change.  
  
"You know, what's it like? Is it all just fighting?"  
  
"Not like the battles we've fought to date" Eevee replied. "And the people and pokemon you get to meet...I wouldn't have met Kyle otherwise. I remember..."  
  
==Stone Town city limits, quite some time back...  
  
(Song: Barenaked Ladies "Pinch Me")  
  
Kyle, Growlithe, and Bulbasaur walked past the town limits, finally embarking on their pokemon journey. Rather than leave as soon as he had gotten his license, Kyle had, along with his two pokemon, entered the local pokemon competition, the Tri-City Cup (Stone Town, Cerulean City, and Celadon City) and had managed to place third overall. "We're gonna clean up, I just know it" Kyle said, eager to make it to the first Gym on his map. "I have it all figured out, we head over to Pewter City, then head up to the northern regions, and we'll be ready to face Cerulean and Saffron when we swing back. You guys ready for this?" Kyle's two pokemon growled, ready for the next battle. AS the three walked to the next town, they heard an argument.  
  
"If you'd just evolve, we'd have won that cup, you useless rodent!"  
  
Kyle ran up, recognizing the voice. "Hey, what's going on here!"  
  
The boy who had yelled looked away from the small pokemon that was cringing on the road and recognized Kyle. "Oh, it's you. Look bub, stay out of this."  
  
Kyle's pokemon growled, instantly disliking this person. Kyle agreed with their assessment. "I remember you from the tournament! That Eevee did the best he could. You're the one who sent him against that Machop!"  
  
"I DON'T NEED TIPS FROM YOU" the trainer yelled, then calmed down. "Forget this and you, there are better pokemon out there."  
  
"Wha...what are you saying?"  
  
"That if you're so concerned about this...rat...YOU take care of it!" Hurling Eevee's pokeball to the ground, the trainer stalked off.   
  
Kyle stood there, unable to believe anyone was capable of treating a pokemon like that. A nudge from Growlithe snapped Kyle out of it, and he walked over to Eevee. "Hey, you alright, little guy?" Eevee stepped back, unsure what to make of Kyle.  
  
Growlithe stepped up, electing to speak for the trainer. ~You can trust him, he's one of the nice ones.~  
  
~Why? I'm just a waste of time, I can't even evolve!~  
  
~Popular myth to the contrary,~ Growlithe replied, ~evolution is not everything.~  
  
~Yeah~ Bulbasaur added. ~You saw me beat that Starmie at the tournament, right?~  
  
~It doesn't matter,~ Eevee replied. ~What good's an Eevee that can't fight?~  
  
~Come with us, and we'll work on that~ Growlithe insisted. He barked, indicating the pokeball the other trainer had left. Kyle walked over, and picked it up.  
  
"Well, you want to come with me? I promise I'll take good care of you, and do a better job of training you than that idiot did."  
  
==  
  
Gatomon winced at the tale. "You really had to go through all that?"  
  
Eevee nodded. "Yeah, though Growlithe and Bulbasaur were able to convince me to go with Kyle. It took a month or two, but he finally got through to me."  
  
"And all was well?"  
  
"Well, it came to a head about 3 months after we met..."  
  
==  
  
Time had passed, and Kyle's roster had grown. Best of all, the Eevee that had been abandoned had finally opened up, and was becoming a skilled fighter in his own right. Kyle's happiest moment was when Eevee had beaten one of Erika's pokemon in a gym battle. Kyle walked, Eevee and Pidgeotto out walking with him. Ahead he heard some noises, like a large fight. He broke into a run, eager to see what was happening.  
  
When he got to the battle, what he saw horrified him. He had heard stories about Team Rocket, but he had not actually met any members of that notorious gang until now.  
  
Team Rocket had intercepted a limousine, and the passenger was battling off three pokemon at once. The driver was unconscious, a fine coat of Sleep Powder on him.  
  
"Give it up" the Rocket leader said. "We know you've got info on a Porygon Upgrade. Turn it over, and we might let you live!"  
  
The passenger refused. "Forget it! I'd never turn such important information over to Team Rocket." The three attacking pokemon, a Primeape, an Electabuzz, and a ghostly pokemon Kyle didn't recognize, advanced. Kyle could only make out two of the attackers, the third obscured from his view by the other two Rockets.  
  
"That's enough of that! Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind on Electabuzz!" Kyle's bird pokemon obeyed, flapping her wings at such a high rate that a tremendous blast of wind caught the Electabuzz and drove him back, knocking him into his trainer and stunning both. "Now, use Wing Attack on the Primeape!" Pidgeotto swiftly dived in, and struck the Fighting type with powerful blows from her wings. Weak against such attacks, and poorly trained by the criminal trainer, Primeape dropped. Pidgeotto flew back to Kyle's location, ready for the next attack. Then he recognized the third trainer, as the other two fell back.  
  
"So," the Rocket member Kyle had met several months back said arrogantly, "we meet again. Kyle, right? Still collecting losers?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kyle demanded.  
  
"Winning, of course. Turns out Team Rocket needs decent trainers who can motivate weak pokemon. Misdreavus, Psywave that bird!" The ghost pokemon moaned, and a blast of psychic energy slammed into Pidgeotto, dazing her.  
  
"Pidgeotto, fight back with your Gust!" The bird quickly launched a wave of air at Misdreavus, but the attack passed harmlessly through!  
  
"Your loss, kid. Everyone knows you can't touch a ghost. Misdreavus, finish that pokemon with Shadow Ball!" A black sphere formed in front of the ghost, and launched at the bird. Pidgeotto squawked loudly as the attack knocked her unconscious. "Who's next? Please tell me you can give me some sort of fight."  
  
Kyle stepped back, not sure how to battle. A movement was picked up by his peripheral vision. Eevee was there, still intimidated by his former trainer's presence. "Eevee, you can take that thing, I know it. You don't have to be scared of him, you're not the same pokemon you were three months ago."  
  
"Oh, this is too rich. Misdreavus, finish that little rodent."  
  
"Eevee, go!" Instinctively, Eevee attacked.  
  
"I'll be nice and make this quick! SHADOW BALL!"   
  
Misdreavus' attack came, and passed through Eevee, having no effect. As the Rocket stared dumbfounded, Kyle replied "shows what you know! Ghost attacks don't affect Normal-type pokemon!"  
  
"Rrr....PSYBEAM!"  
  
"Eevee, dodge it! Don't make eye contact!" The small evolution pokemon dodged around the Misdreavus' attacks, which were hasty and ill aimed, as they relied on eye contact. Kyle was hoping Eevee could dodge the psychic attacks.   
  
The passenger got up, and pulled a small box out of his coat. "KYLE," he roared, "CATCH!" He hurled the small box to Kyle, who caught it.  
  
"A...TM?" Kyle checked the inscription, and recognized which move it contained. "Eevee, get back here!" Eevee jumped back, running to where Kyle was. Misdreavus waited, unsure what to make of this new development.  
  
"Wait for my word, then use this move" Kyle said, activating the TM. The box split open, and Kyle held the two halves around the pokemon's head. Eevee felt a tingle as the TM's information was transmitted into him, and Kyle immediately figured out how to deal with the attacker. "OK, get close, and wait for him to attack. Just trust me" he said, smiling. Eevee nodded, and got ready to fight again.  
  
"Modify all you want" the trainer shouted, "nothing can beat Misdreavus!"  
  
"Eevee, get close!"  
  
"Misdreavus, Psybeam!"  
  
"EEVEE, USE PROTECT!" Eevee concentrated, and felt the new move activate, generating a field to protect the evolution pokemon. The psychic attack bounced off the field harmlessly. "Now, use Bite!" Jumping, Eevee leaped into Misdreavus' body, clamping his teeth down on anything he could find. By luck, the semi-solid energy matrix his attack disrupted was vital to the ghost's ability to stay conscious, and it immediately fell to the attack.  
  
"No...THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" The trainer reared back, ready to launch his own attack. He was stopped by the limo driver, who had recovered and tackled the Rocket. The passenger ducked into the limo, and used the phone to call the police, who arrived a few minutes later.  
  
Once the dust had settled, and Kyle had sworn out a statement to the police, the limo passenger turned to the young trainer. "I must say, I'm impressed with the way you handled your pokemon."  
  
"I can't take all the credit" Kyle replied. "Eevee and Pidgeotto did all the work."  
  
"Maybe, but you showed a keen sense for battling. Using Whirlwind to remove that Electabuzz before it could attack Pidgeotto showed good foresight. And not many people know that Normal pokemon can't be affected by Ghost-type moves. What's your name, son?"  
  
"Kyle Ellison, sir."  
  
"A pleasure, Kyle. My name is William Cedars, but everyone calls me Bill."  
  
Kyle boggled. "Not *the* Bill!"  
  
While Kyle and Bill talked, Eevee walked over to Pidgeotto, who had recovered from the battle. ~Are you alright?~  
  
~I'll be skyborne in no time~ Pidgeotto replied. ~Good moves out there.~  
  
~It was Kyle. If he hadn't recieved that TM-~  
  
~You were able to use that TM to best effect, and not many pokemon will dive into a Misdreavus just on a trainer's order. Stop selling yourself short, you're much better than you think. In fact, I'm a little jealous~ Pidgeotto said, winking.  
  
~Why?~  
  
~I've seen the bond you've formed with Kyle, it's a lot like the one he has with Growlithe.~  
  
~I didn't...should I...~  
  
~NO! I was just kidding about that jealousy bit. It's so rare to see pokemon bond with their trainers. Kyle's my friend, but you've managed to link with him in ways I can never understand. Stick around, and you'll see!~  
  
==  
  
"And that's what happened" Eevee said. "Kyle got an invitation to the demo Bill was holding some months later, and, well, you know the rest."  
  
"Some story" Gatomon replied. "What happened to that other trainer?"  
  
"It's funny, I never learned his name. Anyway, his pokemon license was revoked, and he's doing seven to twelve for assault, conspiracy to commit said assault, and pokemon abuse."  
  
Gatomon nodded. "I can relate a bit. I..." she stopped, feeling a wave of pain as old memories played back.  
  
"Forget it" Eevee said. "Don't tell me until you want to. Say, you know where Ivysaur went" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
Gatomon smiled. "Palmon asked him out." They both shared a good laugh at that.  
  
==End (Song: Blues Traveler, 'Run-Around')  
  
Interlude  
  
Trainer file: Kyle Ellison  
  
Kyle is a pokemon trainer from Stone Town. At age 14, he is a bit older than most other trainers are; this is due to his father insisting that he continue his studies at the local tech school. He's in his last year of school; once he re-enrolls, he has only to finish his last year of school and his finals. A fairly normal kid, nice guy, a little shy, not too good dealing with the opposite sex yet, the usual deal..   
  
At the start of Digimon:Digicross, Kyle has been a pokemon trainer for almost 8 months. His pokemon team is small, but they are very well skilled. His current team includes  
  
GrowlitheEeveeBulbasaur/Ivysaur  
Cubone/MarowakScyther/ScizorPidgeotto/Pidgeot  
MachopMarrilSeel/Dewgong  
GastlyOnixOddish  
  
Pokemon listed after a '/' indicate that they evolved after Kyle captured them. List current as of the Digicross Movie.  
  
At the start of the series, Kyle had 5 badges from the Kanto League, when he recieved an invitation to visit a special demo held by Bill Cedars, famous pokemon researcher. We all know how that ended up...  
  
Physical Description: Kyle is 14 years old, measures 5'3". He has short cut, light brown hair, grey eyes, slim build, and a pleasant face. As a person, he's a bit shy outside of pokemon battles. His likes include cooking, pokemon (duh!), and music. His dislikes include mean pokemon trainers and rice balls.  
  
Movie Main Story  
Digimon: Digicross Movie  
'Miracle Fusion! Diaboromon's Return!'  
  
OP: Jim Byrnes, "Still Stuck on You"  
  
Scene: Just outside Cerulean City, Tai and Sora are talking quietly at a small cafe. Hesitantly, Tai pulls out a small box and hands it to Sora, who takes it, and opens it up. Pulling out the small pendant, Sora is struck speechless by the gift. The camera closes in, and we see the pendant is small, held on a thin gold chain, and is carved out of amberite in the shape of Sora's crest of love. Tears in her eyes, she stands up, moves to Tai's side of the table, and hugs him, crying.  
  
==Cerulean Gym (Pokemon Movie 3: Goldeen versus Kingdra)  
  
At the Cerulean Gym, Kyle was battling one of the Cerulean sisters for his next Gym Badge. Currently, his Ivysaur was facing off against Violet's Starmie, Machop having already beaten Horsea. In the stands, June, Elecmon, Kari, and Gatomon were watching.  
  
"Ivysaur, use your Vine Whip!" The seed pokemon responded to Kyle's directions, launching all four of its vines at the star shaped water pokemon.  
  
"Nice try" Lily said, "but I've been practicing against Grass types. Starmie, use Whirlpool!" Diving under Ivysaur's Vine Whip, Starmie went underwater, swam to the platform the pokemon was standing on, and swam rapidly around the pokemon. The speed was such that a whirlpool of water formed, trapping the pokemon inside! "Now, use Psychic!" The attack hammered into Ivysaur's brain, knocking the pokemon out instantly.  
  
"Ivysaur is unable to battle! Does challenger forfeit" the referee asked.  
  
"Not yet" Kyle replied. "Machop, think you can handle another round?" The pokemon nodded, and quickly dashed to the attack. The two battled back and forth, until Machop, gathering the last of her strength, launched a desperate Body Slam attack, which wound up knocking both pokemon out.  
  
"He's pretty focussed on the match" Elecmon observed.  
  
"It'd better be the match he's focussed on" June replied. She hadn't known that the three Sensational Sisters would be in attendance. Or that they would be so...attractive.  
  
"Relax" Kari said. "He wouldn't do anything like that, would he?"  
  
"Nahh, not with all of us ready to rat him out" Gatomon grinned.  
  
"Double knockout! Each trainer may use only one more pokemon each!"  
  
"Well," Lily said, "I know what I'm using! Go, Quagsire!" Lily released her pokeball, and a blue creature with barely defined facial features appeared. It looked utterly disinterested in the battle.  
  
"Then I'll choose...Pidgeotto!" Kyle released his pokemon, the Flying type taking position several feet above the arena. It cawed, daring the Water type to make the first move.  
  
"Quagsire, use your Water Gun!" Quagsire responded, firing a jet of water at Pidgeotto, who dodged the attack.  
  
"Pidgeotto, Gust now!" Pidgeotto responded, launching a wave of air at Quagsire, who was unable to dodge the attack. "Now, finish it with Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto swooped in, ready to deliver her best attack.  
  
"I was waiting for that. Hidden Power, NOW!" Quagsire glowed for a second, then released a sphere of energy at the incoming pokemon. Unable to dodge, Pidgeotto was caught by the attack, and forced back. To Kyle's shock, ice began forming around the pokemon. "Turns out our Quagsire's got a soul of ice, no? Ready to quit?"  
  
"Pidgeotto!" Kyle called. "Don't give up!"  
  
Pidgeotto heard her trainer, struggled to get up. The ice was wearing her down, sapping the strength from her body...  
  
No. She wasn't about to give up that quickly. Power...she needed more power...  
  
"What's happening" Lily asked. "that bird should be an icicle by now." As she watched, Pidgeotto stood up, struggling to get back in the fight, despite the Ice attack. Then, as both trainers watched, Pidgeotto gave out a loud cry, and started glowing!  
  
"Is that..." Elecmon breathed.  
  
"Pidgeotto's evolving!" June said. As they watched, Pidgeotto's form became blurry, indistinct. Her wings lengthened, the plumage on her head grew, her very form expanding as her evolution took her to her final level.  
  
"Pidgeot! ALRIGHT!"  
  
"I'll bet she's still weak!" Lily snarled. "Quagsire, Hidden Power!"  
  
"Dodge it, Pidgeot!" Kyle called. The bird, moving faster than ever before, dodged the attack, and flew up several yards away.  
  
"It's not over yet! Hydro Pump!"  
  
"Get ready" Kyle said, watching the attack shoot out of Quagsire's mouth. "Now, MIRROR MOVE!" Pidgeot's wing glowed as she struck the attack, sending the full force back at Quagsire. "Now, use Sky Attack!" Powering up, Pidgeot shot down at Quagsire, striking the Water type and knocking it back into the water. The two trainers watched where Quagsire had fallen in, Kyle relaxing slightly as Quagsire floated to the surface, unconscious.  
  
"Quagsire is unable to battle! Winner is Kyle Ellison!"  
  
==Just south of Cerulean City  
  
Crystal stared at Tycho, trying to figure out what kind of pokemon he had. It looked like a Ditto, but the way it moved...and Dittos don't have a giant eyeball or claws...  
  
"Ready to start?" Tycho called out, Tsumemon quivering, anticipating the battle.  
  
"You bet! Let's go, Kurt!"  
  
Tycho grinned. "Let's show them what you've learned, Tsumemon! GO!" The small digimon moved forward, advancing on the psychic pokemon. The In-Training digimon seemed to yawn, releasing a wave of energy. Espeon just stood there and took it.  
  
"Kurt can take a Psywave no problem" Crystal said confidently. "Show that blob how it's done!" Espeon fired a psychic bolt of his own, hitting the digimon square on. Tsumemon retreated, mind confused by the blast.  
  
"Don't give up" Tycho said. "Fight back with Scratch!" The digimon tried to obey, but Espeon managed to dodge the clumsy leap, knocking Tsumemon back with a Quick Attack. "Wait for it" Tycho said. As he spoke, Espeon leaped, trying another physical attack. "Now! Use Giga Drain!" Tsumemon dodged the attack, and wrapped two of its clawed arms around Espeon, draining the pokemon's energy.  
  
Crystal reacted instantly. "Kurt! Teleport away!" Kurt's body shimmered, then   
vanished, only to reappear several feet away from Tsumemon. "Now, use Psychic!" Another psychic bolt, this one much stronger, slammed into Tsumemon's mind. This time, however, the psychic energy had a different effect...  
  
"I remember! Tsumemon, digivolve to...KERAMON!" The small digimon glowed, and began to...elongate, for want of a better word. The body became rounded, and seemed to float upwards, long tendrils extending beneath it. Two of the tendrils thickened, crude hands forming out of the ends. The glow faded. The resultant digimon would have seemed almost clown like, if not for the slightly insane expression on its face.  
  
"He...evolved" Crystal breathed.  
  
"Alright Tsumemon" Tycho yelled. "We're back in the fight now!"  
  
Keramon went for the immediate threat first. Shouting "Bit Basher", he fired off several energy blasts, which Kurt only barely dodged. Taking advantage of the confusion, Keramon grabbed Kurt in one of its hands, draining the energy out of the pokemon. When it was finished, it contemptuously tossed the pokemon over to Crystal.  
  
"Why you...go, Kitty!" Crystal released her second pokemon, which took shape out of a fog of darkness. "Misssst" the Misdreavus hissed, ready to fight. "Shadow Ball!"  
  
"Bit Basher!" Misdreavus' attack hit the digimon, forcing it back, while Keramon's attack went -through- the pokemon.  
  
"That's it! Now Spite it so it can't attack again!" Crystal called. Misdreavus's eyes glowed, distracting the digimon for a moment. It yelled "Bit Basher" again, but nothing happened!  
  
"That attacked drained some of your energy, Tsumemon" Tycho called. "Fight back with...Giga Drain!"  
  
"Enough of this!" Keramon snapped. Reaching out, the digimon grabbed the ghost in his hand, and drained Kitty of her energy as well.  
  
"That thing GRABBED a Ghost pokemon" Crystal stammered, unable to believe it. Then she saw Keramon advancing.  
  
"Alright, we won" Tycho yelled, not noticing Keramon's behavior. "Return and take a rest!" Tycho held up a pokeball, and activated the recall function. The red beam lashed out, but Keramon dodged it. "What are you doing? The fight's over, return!" Keramon turned to face Tycho, and the boy thought that Keramon had started to obey him.  
  
"Bit Basher."  
  
==Airborne, also near Mount Moon  
  
TK sighed contentedly, riding Pegasusmon though the sky. It was too nice a day to stay in town, he had told the others, and wanted to sightsee a little. Plus with all the couples starting to show up, he was feeling a little left out.  
  
"You alright TK?" Pegasusmon asked.  
  
"Hmm? Yeah, just taking in the scenery."  
  
Pegasusmon's eyes narrowed a bit. "You just seemed a bit eager to get out of there, that's all. Wanna talk about it?"  
  
"It's nothing, really. Just get out, see the sights, wonder if Mount Moon was as romantic as everyone said,"  
  
"Pine over Kari" Pegasusmon interjected.  
  
"...pine over...HEY!" TK smirked, recovering his wit.  
  
"Gotcha" the digimon chuckled, then went silent, his whole body tensing.  
  
"What is it" TK asked, immediately worried.  
  
"There's something familiar nearby, I...THERE!" Pegasusmon looked off to his left; in the distance, digimon and human could see what looked like a fountain of water coming out of the treeline. After a few seconds, it stopped, the stream of water rapidly falling off.  
  
"Let's go" TK said.  
  
==  
  
The blast that had knocked Tycho out also released his Squirtle, who was now fighting the digimon. Crystal watched, too scared to move. She saw as Squirtle, unable to do any damage to the rampaging monster, fired a desperate blast of water into the air, hoping to attract attention. Then Keramon grabbed him too, and he was drained. The digimon turned to face Crystal. "Where am I" it asked, in an oddly toned voice, almost as if it came out of a computer synthesizer.  
  
"Whu...what?"  
  
"Where am I?" Keramon advanced closer, desperate to know where he was. Things were so fuzzy, he remembered a computer, vaguely...  
  
"EQUIS BEAM!" A green bolt of energy slammed into Keramon, driving the digimon back.  
  
Looking up, Crystal saw a young boy on a flying horse, charging in to battle. -Of course,- she thought to herself, -good guy flies in to save the day. Isn't that how the storybooks always go?- It was too much. She passed out.  
  
Pegasusmon landed, recognizing the foe immediately. "TK, it's-"  
  
"Keramon. Can you take him?"  
  
Pegasusmon nodded. "I'm already digivolved this time. Take care of the others!" Pegasusmon lowered his head, and charged the insane digimon.  
  
==Cerulean City  
  
Eevee and Gatomon were resting on the roof of the cafe. It was a warm afternoon, too nice a day to trouble with anything requiring significant physical activity. Like say standing up. Biyomon spotted the pair, and landed near them. "So, this is where you've gotten to" she said.  
  
"Hey, pull up a slice of roof" Gatomon said.  
  
"Yeah, it's too nice a day to spend flying around" Eevee added.  
  
Biyomon held back a chuckle. "You two could sleep through an earthquake, couldn't you?"  
  
"Don't know, but I fully intend to try" Eevee replied, settling down. A second later, his ears twitched, and he looked around. Gatomon was doing the same.  
  
"What is it" Biyomon asked. Neither replied for a second. Then they both got up, and ran for the exit door. "Hey, wait up!" The three ran through the door, down the stairs, cut through the kitchen (startling the chef and several dishwashers in the process), ran out the back door, and headed for the Pokemon Center.  
  
"Tell Agumon we're headed out of the city for a while, and we'll call if something comes up" Gatomon called to the bird digimon.  
  
Biyomon nodded, started to head towards the other side of town, then stopped. Eevee and Gatomon were already off, racing for the center as if chased by the Dark Masters. "Trouble" she said softly, then headed to where Agumon was.  
  
At the center, Kyle, June, Kari, and Elecmon were outside, resting and having an impromptu celebration. "So now what" June asked.  
  
"Well, head to Cinnabar Isalnd, I guess" Kyle replied. "Then find one more gym, then I can compete at Indigo Plateau."  
  
"That didn't look so tough" Elecmon said. "Maybe June and I should enter."  
  
"No way" June replied. "I wouldn't want you to fight in the Indigo League!"  
  
"Don't think I could win?" Elecmon replied, offended.  
  
"Well, there is a solos division" Kyle replied. "The current champ has held the title three years running. I think his name's Ryo Akiyama."  
  
"Heh. We'll show them all, right Elecmon" June cackled.  
  
"Yeah! Bring 'em on" Elecmon replied, starry-eyed.  
  
"Oh brother" Kari said, sighing.  
  
Kyle heard running, and saw Gatomon and Eevee heading for them. "Hey, what brings you two here?"  
  
"Kari" Gatomon yelled. "We have to get going now!"  
  
"She's right" Eevee gasped. "Something's up, and Patamon's hip deep in it!"  
  
"How do you know?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Just trust us" Eevee said.  
  
Kyle nodded. "I'll get Growlithe" he said, going into the Pokemon Center. A minute later, Kyle came out, a slightly damp Growlithe accompanying him.  
  
"Why'd you pull me out?" Growlithe groused. "I was having such a nice bath."  
  
Kyle pulled out his D-Terminal. "Trouble's up, and we need some air power." Kari pulled out her computer as well.  
  
"Digiarmour Energize!"  
  
"Gatomon, armour digivolve to...Nefertimon, the angel of Light!"  
  
"Growlithe, armour digivolve to...Cyberarcanine, the strength of Loyalty!"  
  
Kyle and Eevee hopped onto Cyberarcanine's back, while Kari, June and Elecmon rode Nefertimon. The two armoured monsters took to the skies.  
  
==  
  
"Star Shower!" Pegasusmon called, firing his attack at Keramon. The hail of stars struck the digimon, forcing it back. -He's stronger this time- the armour digimon thought. -and he's only at the Rookie level!-  
  
While the two battled, TK tried to wake up Tycho. The boy stirred, waking up. "What's going on...TSUMEMON! Stop him, he's going to hurt him!" Tycho stood up, trying to get to the monster he had spent the last month training.  
  
TK grabbed the boy. "It's too dangerous! That thing's not even a pokemon, it has to be stopped!"  
  
"Mane Wind!"  
  
"Bit Basher!"  
  
"I DON'T CARE" Tycho shouted. He pulled out of TK's grip and ran towards Keramon. "Tsumemon, stop it!"  
  
Keramon looked at the boy, and fired an energy bolt at him. Tycho stopped, not believing that the monster he thought of as his friend would attack. TK tackled him, knocking the boy clear of the blast.  
  
"TK" Pegasusmon roared.  
  
TK slowly got up, watching to see what Keramon would do next. Keramon stared for a long instant, then hissed "I know you" in a low voice. TK returned the stare, not saying anything. Keramon suddenly jumped, as if swimming through the air, and grabbed Pegasusmon in his tendrils. "GIGA DRAIN!" The attack sucked the energy out of the digimon, reverting to Patamon and falling limp.  
  
"PATAMON" TK yelled. Fear turned to fury as he tried to figure out some way to fight the monster that had so attacked his friend.  
  
"LOCK ON!" TK and Keramon looked up, and saw an orange and black creature with metal wings looking down on them.  
  
"PLASMA BUSTER!" Cyberarcanine's attack hit Keramon dead on, injuring it. Nefertimon flew in from behind, firing a Rosetta Stone at the same time. Caught between the two powerful attacks, Keramon quickly ducked into the forest. The two armoured digimon landed, and the three digidestined and two monsters (Eevee and Elecmon, remember?) hopped off.  
  
"Are you alright?" Kari said, running over to TK.   
  
"I'm fine, but Patamon's hurt" TK said, indicating the digimon he carried in his arms. Kyle looked Patamon over.  
  
"Looks like he had his energy drained. He should be alright with a little rest. What happened here?"  
  
"Keramon" TK said, anger in his voice. "There was a battle and he...hey, he attacked some other humans and pokemon too!"  
  
"Over here!" Kari called, kneeling by Crystal. "Crystal, it's me, Kari. Remember?"  
  
Crystal blinked, coming to. "Ka...Kari...? Yeah. What happened?"  
  
"We were hoping you could tell us" Kyle said, walking over.  
  
"Kyle? What are you doing here" Crystal asked.  
  
"And who's this?" June asked, a bit icily. Kyle immediately sweatdropped.  
  
"Umm...June, Crystal Melin, Crystal, June Motomiya."  
  
"Oh" Crystal said brightly. "You must be Kyle's girlfriend. Oh no, Tycho!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The trainer I was fighting! That thing turned on him after evolving!"  
  
Kyle and TK quickly found Tycho, who was just coming around. His Squirtle was beside him, also unconscious. "Found him" TK called. "They're a bit roughed up, but that's about the worst of it." As he spoke, Tycho came around.  
  
"Tsumemon...where..."  
  
"Hey, you alright?" Kyle asked. "You took a pretty nasty hit."  
  
"My...pokemon" Tycho mumbled. "I failed..."  
  
==Cerulean City  
  
"Tai, I had a wonderful time, thank you" Sora said.  
  
"Oh, hey..." Tai replied. He stopped as he felt Sora's hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head down slightly...-Ohgod, she's going to kiss me!-  
  
In the back alleys, Keramon crept along...he recognized TK from the battle. Had it been that long, Keramon thought to itself. So long since...the digimon shuddered, remembering its 'death' at the hands of Omnimon, a fusion digimon created by two humans. As it floated along, it saw two figures, one vaguely familiar...HIM!  
  
Caught in what was (though he'd never admit to it) his first kiss, Tai never noticed Keramon creep up, ready to attack. Agumon, who (along with Biyomon) was spying on the two, did. "TAI, LOOK OUT!" The digimon shouted. "Pepper Breath!" The flame attack struck Keramon, though it did little damage. Biyomon joined in, adding her Spiral Twister to the assault.   
  
"Giga Drain!" With unimaginable speed, Keramon grabbed Agumon and Biyomon, draining their energy.  
  
"Biyomon!" Sora cried, willing her partner to digivolve.  
  
Struggling to free herself, Biyomon tore free of Keramon's grip, ands flew upwards as the digivolution took hold. "Biyomon, digivolve to...Birdramon!" Birdramon shot upwards further, spreading her wings. "Meteor Wing!" The attack shot towards Keramon, who tossed Agumon and dodged the attack.  
  
"Too late" it hissed. One of its hands flew out, grabbing Tai and pulling him towards the digimon. "Keramon, digivolve to...Chrysalimon!" As it digivolved, the tendrils wrapped around Keramon and Tai, enveloping the boy and hardening into a shell.  
  
"Sora" Tai yelled, "get help! GET-!"  
  
"TAI!" Sora tried to reach Tai, to pull him out of the digimon's grip, but she was too late. Chrysalimon's cocoon formed, trapping Tai within. Birdramon held back, knowing an attack might hurt the boy. "Let him go!" Sora yelled, chasing Chrysalimon. The digimon shot off, flying to the west.  
  
"Tai..."  
  
==Cerulean Pokemon Center, 20 minutes later  
  
The other digidestined made it to the Pokemon center as Sora was just leaving it. Tearfully, she told how Keramon had kidnapped Tai, drained Agumon and Biyomon, then digivolved.  
  
"That must be how he was able to digivolve" Kari said. "He's got no data to feed on, so draining digimon is the only way he can gain enough power to digivolve." She faced Sora. "Don't worry. We'll get Tai back, I promise."  
  
"I'm going too" Sora said.  
  
"But-" TK started.  
  
"None of the other digidestined are available" Sora said, cutting TK off. "Cody's got a kendo tournament, Yolei's on a weekend field trip, and I don't know where Davis or Ken are (shot of Davis in detention, writing essay of why one shouldn't play soccer indoors)! And Patamon's in no shape to battle anyone." She saw TK's shoulders slump a bit. "Sorry" she said weakly.  
  
"It's alright" TK said, heading for the computer. "The rest of you go get Tai. I'll get Matt and Izzy, if I can find them. They know more about Keramon than the rest of us." TK held his digivice to the computer screen, and vanished in a flare of light.  
  
==Airborne  
  
After what seemed like hours of floating in a black void a small voice reached Tai's ears.  
  
"Tai? Tai."  
  
Tai looked around. "Sora?" As he looked, Sora seemed to materialize out of the blackness. "What happened. Where's-?"  
  
"It's Keramon! He's attacking. Tai, we need you to get Omnimon!"  
  
"Omni...I need Matt!"  
  
"Matt? Yes, him. What else?"  
  
Tai looked at Sora oddly. "What do you mean, 'what else'? I told you....YOU'RE NOT SORA!"  
  
'Sora's' features faded, replaced by Keramon's sick grin. "How? HOW? How did a mere slip of a boy defeat me? Your digimon surpassed the mega level, HOW??"  
  
"I...I don't know!"  
  
"LIES! I refuse to believe that two...children!...defeated me by accident!"  
  
Tai started to get angry. "Where am I? Where are you taking me??"  
  
"I seek power" the digimon replied. "And the young fool who kept me these past months told me all about elemental stones. And a place where many of one type can be found..."  
  
==  
  
"I have them" Cyberarcanine said. "They're a good distance ahead, but we can catch up."  
  
"Where are they headed" Kyle asked. The other digimon and digidestined pulled closer as they flew, straining to hear.  
  
"Mount Moon" the pokemon replied. Kyle grimaced.  
  
"What's there" called June, riding with Sora on Birdramon.  
  
"Moon stones. If he's planning what I think he's planning, we're all in trouble."  
  
"What's a moon stone" Elecmon asked.  
  
"Energized meteoric fragments" Cyberarcanine replied. "They're used to induce evolutions in some pokemon. It's been theorized that they have other properties, but no one knows what they might be."  
  
"So Crysalimon might be trying to power up with a moon stone?" Kari looked skeptical. "He's a digimon, not a pokemon."  
  
"He might not know that" Nefertimon said. "TK did say that Keramon only just remembered what he was. If he's been brought up as a pokemon, he might still be confused."  
  
"I hope you're right" Sora said. "None of us can reach Ultimate anymore." -Or mega,- she thought to herself. -Tai...-  
  
"Not to worry" Kyle said. "I have Eevee with me. If things get ugly, he can digivolve to Pyroangemon."  
  
"I can digivolve to Angewomon" Nefertimon said, "but I can't hold it for very long."  
  
"We'll get him back" June said. "Trust us."  
  
Sora nodded, but said nothing.  
  
==4 years ago  
  
The day after recieving Tai's letter, Sora decided it was finally time to let the boy off the hook. "He did mean well" she said to herself, "even if he doesn't have any fashion sense. And stuck his foot in his mouth." As she approached the door to Tai's home, she heard...shouting? Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.  
  
Tai's mom opened the door. "Oh, Sora! They're all waiting for you. Please, come in!"   
  
Confused, Sora entered, and went to the living room. Entering she saw...well, everyone. Tai, Kari, Matt, Joe, Izzy, and TK. Briefly, she wondered where Mimi was, then remembered she was in Hawaii. "Hey guys, what's the occasion?" she asked.  
  
Matt blinked. "Huh? We whipped Diaboromon, remember?"   
  
"Dia-what?"  
  
"Yeah" Joe said. I missed out 'cause of that exam I had to write, but Tai and Matt filled me in. But you must have seen it, so why am I blathering?"  
  
"S---seen it?"  
  
"Yeah" TK said, excited. "We were watching it on all the TV screens all over, and Tai and Matt managed to go into the internet, and Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon managed to combine into Omnimon and...Sora? What's wrong?" TK stopped. Sora was...crying?  
  
==The Present, Tokyo  
  
After getting back to his native world, TK ran from his house all the way over to Izzy's home, almost beating the door down in his haste. Izzy's mother answered. "TK, what's all the commotion?"  
  
"I'm (pant) sorry....I need to talk to Izzy, right now!!"  
  
At that moment, Izzy appeared by the doorway. "TK? What going on?"  
  
"Keramon...He's in the pokemon world!"  
  
"WHAAAA?????!!!!!"  
  
"I'll explain on the way, come on!" Grabbing Izzy's arm, TK dragged Izzy out the door. Izzy managed to stammer a hasty goodbye to his mother, who had lost track of events by then. The two managed to track Matt down, and told him what had happened (and his response will not be printed here. PG fic and all). The three headed for the nearest computer; they were going to need help.  
  
==Mount Moon  
  
It was a sunny day. Several Clefairy were resting on the mountainside, enjoying the peace. The shrine that held the fragments of the giant moonstone they had recovered had not been disturbed, and had grown as more pieces were found. The next full moon, and evolution ceremony, were a good two weeks off. Perfect time for a rest.  
  
Then, one Clefairy sat up, ears twitching. "Clefairy!" she shouted, pointing at a small dot in the sky. As others looked up, they saw that the dot was slowly growing larger.  
  
~A flying Metapod?~ one of the Clefairy wondered. Then, realizing where the creature was headed, yelled ~INCOMING!~ at the top of his lungs. The Clefairy scattered, getting clear of Crysalimon, just as the digimon hit the base of the mountain.  
  
~What is it?~  
  
~Everyone, clear the Shrine out! We cannot take another chance!~  
  
==Inside Chrysalimon  
  
"So...weak..."  
  
Tai, who had passed out under the stress of Chrysalimon's interrogation, came to. The impact would have smashed the boy around the inside of Chrysalimon, had not the tendrils holding him in place absorbed most of the shock. "Where am I?"  
  
Keramon's face appeared. "We are at Mount Moon. Here, I shall reclaim my power. I failed to destroy your world, so I shall make do with this one."  
  
"No! You can't!"  
  
Keramon continued, ignoring his captive. "My power is weakened, between the flight and my digivolution. But I will regain my power. I will rule!"  
  
Outside, Chrysalimon's body sprouted several whip-like cords, each one grabbing into the surface of the rock, helping the digimon to burrow through the rock, moving towards the power it felt at the top of the mountain.  
  
==5 minutes later  
  
The digidestined landed at the foot of Mount Moon. Getting off of Cyberarcanine, Kyle pulled out a pokeball, and released Eevee. Cyberarcanine glowed and reverted to Growlithe. "If there's a fight inside" the pokemon explained, "flying won't be much help." A Clefairy, watching the group from cover, hopped over, and started speaking to the group.  
  
Eevee nodded, then translated for the group. "He said that a large cocoon-like creature hit the side of the mountain, and started tunneling. Down or up, they don't know. Worse, the tunnel collapsed behind it, so they can't follow it."  
  
"What about Tai" Sora asked, worried.  
  
"Probably still with Chrysalimon" Kari said. "Can you fight him without hurting Tai?"  
  
Elecmon answered. "Hey, you know us. We'll bring back Tai, without a scratch."  
  
"Yeah" Gatomon added. "Besides, he doesn't have any data to feed on here; we won't have to worry about Infermon or Diaboromon."  
  
The Clefairy spoke again. "The largest collection of moon stones is at the peak of the mountain" Eevee said. "If Chrysalimon is going after them, that'd be the best place to find him."  
  
"Then we'd better clear it and the Clefairy out" June said. "If he does get through..."  
  
"He won't" Birdramon said. "Everyone get on, I'll fly us up."  
  
The trip up took only a minute or two. At the peak, the digidestined hopped off, along with the Clefairy they had met. At the top, they saw a crater, which opened into a larger chamber underneath. The Digidestined carefully climbed down the side of the crater, and saw a large collection of glowing stones!  
  
"These are.." June breathed.  
  
"Moon Stones" Kyle said. "It's easily the largest collection I've ever seen. But these are all fragments." As they watched, Clefairy carried off pieces of the pile.  
  
A shudder ran through the chamber, knocking dust off the sides of the walls. "He's coming" Elecmon said. The digimon tensed up, ready to fight. The digidestined pulled out their digivices.  
  
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"  
  
"Growlithe, Digivolve to...Arcanine!"  
  
"Gatomon, digivolve to...Angewomon!"  
  
"Eevee, digivolve to...Flareon!"  
  
Birdramon pulled her wings back; still digivolved, she was too large to fit in the cavern. "Stay there" Sora called. "We'll try to force Chrysalimon your way, once Tai is clear!"  
  
As Sora finished speaking, a large, whip like tendril shot from the ground, implanting itself in the wall. A second tendril did likewise, then several more. As the digidestined watched, Chrysalimon pulled itself from the ground, regarding the pile of moon stones.  
  
"Give...me...the stones" it said, its voice thin and rasping.  
  
"Give us back Tai!" Sora and Kari said.  
  
"Careful" Angewomon cautioned. "We don't know where Tai is inside that thing."  
  
"Then the two of us should go first" Leomon said. "Arcanine, you and Flareon stay back; our attacks are more precise." Arcanine and Flareon nodded, stepping back. The two digimon faced Chrysalimon, and attacked!  
  
"Celestial Arrow!"  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!"  
  
Chrysalimon dodged the two attacks, sliding around on the web of tendrils it had established. "My turn. Data Crasher!" Two of Chrysalimon's cords disconnected from the wall, crackled with energy, and attacked Leomon and Angewomon. Leomon was able to block the attack with his sword, severing the tendril; Angewomon was not so lucky. The attack hit her, electrocuting the digimon. Yelling, Angewomon flew straight up, through the hole in the chamber ceiling. She managed to pull Chrysalimon with her, ripping the digimon from its web of tendrils; some of the chords were snapped and hung lifeless, only a few of Chrysalimon's tendrils were freed from the stone walls in time.  
  
"Birdramon, go!" Obeying her partner, Birdramon flew up, and started attacking Chrysalimon with wing strikes and slashes from her taloned feet. "Let her go" Birdramon snarled, trying to free Angewomon.  
  
"In...a...moment" Chrysalimon replied, grabbing Birdramon in another energized whip. Having captured the two digimon, Chrysalimon quickly reversed the flow of energy, draining the two digimon that were attacking it. "Giga Drain" it shouted.  
  
"NO" Flareon shouted, seeing what was happening. He looked back, saw that Kyle had his digivice out, and digivolved. "Flareon, digivolve to...Pyroangemon!" Able to fly now, the angel pokemon caught the two rookie digimon (Yeah, Angewomon got knocked back to Salamon. Sucks, don't it? -ed) that Chrysalimon callously tossed away. Landing on the outside edge of the crater, he placed the two digimon on the ground, drew his sword, and got ready to fight.  
  
"Chrysalimon, digivolve to..."  
  
"Howling Blaster!"  
  
"Electro shocker!" As Pyroangemon watched, Garurumon and Kabuterimon appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, grabbing onto Chrysalimon, interrupting the insane digimon's attempt to digivolve. The three struggled, then Garurumon bit down on Chrysalimon's torso, ripped part of the shell -off- (eeewwwww -ed) and tossed it away. Kabuterimon stuck one of his four arms in, ripped something out, and the two got away. Chrysalimon dropped like a stone.  
  
The other digidestined came running out, and saw Matt and Izzy there with their digimon, as well as Pyroangemon. As Sora came up, Kabuterimon knelt and placed Tai's inert body on the ground. "He's unconscious" Izzy said, checking the boy, "but he'll be fine." Sora held her boyfriend, glad to have him back.  
  
"How'd you get here" June asked.  
  
"TK told us what happened, and we came as fast as we could. We didn't have time to find any of the others, though."  
  
"And TK?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Pokemon center" Matt continued. "I left him to explain everything to those two trainers."  
  
"Poor kid" Kari said, holding Salamon. "How are we going to tell him about this?"  
  
==  
  
Some distance away, Chrysalimon stirred. So close to being able to digivolve, and being stopped AGAIN by that beast. "Power...need..." It crawled back towards the mountain, trying to find more energy. As it did, it came across a small, glowing stone. It had no way of knowing about Team Rocket's abortive attempt to steal the giant moon stone from Mount Moon, or it's resulting destruction. Nor would it have cared. Draping one of its remaining tendrils over the fragment, it felt the power seep into its body...  
  
==Four years ago  
  
Tai ran over to Sora's home. After TK had told Sora what happened, Sora had stopped moving for a second. Tai had tried to calm Sora down and find out what was wrong, but she smacked Tai across the face, and ran out of the house, crying.  
  
As Tai made it to Sora's home, he saw Sora's mom in the doorway. "Ms Takenouchi, is Sora home?" Tai's voice was a mix of worry and confusion.  
  
"She just ran in, went to her room, and slammed the door. Did...something happen?"  
  
"I don't know!" Tai stopped, calmed himself down a bit. "I need to talk to her. I swear I didn't do anything to her!"  
  
In her room, Sora heard Tai's voice. She felt miserable now; how could she have missed such a large fight? How DARE Tai not tell her about...then she remembered Tai's desperate sounding phone call.   
  
"He did" she sobbed. "And I was so busy being mad..."  
  
"Sora?" There was a tap on the window of her room.  
  
Sora looked up. Out the window, the sun was shining, there was a large pink bird..."Biyomon?" Hesitantly, she walked over to the window, opned it. Biyomon flew in, into the arms of her partner. "How...?"  
  
"Gennai managed to open a portal" Biyomon said. "If Matt and Tai could do it..."she felt Sora stiffen. "Sora? What's wrong?"  
  
==Present day, Pokemon world.  
  
Arcanine looked to where Chrysalimon fell, some distance away. "Looks like I missed all the fun" he said, mock sadness in his voice.  
  
"Trust me, you're better off" Garurumon said, grinning ferally. "If he had managed to digivolve..." The digimon stopped in mid sentence. The other monsters did too, looking around.  
  
"What's wrong" Sora asked.  
  
"He's back" Arcanine snarled. "Everyone get away!"  
  
"Hell Grenade!" A blast of energy hit near the group, showering them with dirt and rocks.  
  
"Crysalimon?" Matt looked around. He was so sure the digimon had been mortally wounded. Then he saw the digimon, and recognize its new form. "It's Infermon! He digivolved somehow!"  
  
Sora shook Tai, trying to wake the boy up. "Tai, wake up. We need you. I..."  
  
"Forget it Sora" Matt said, frustrated. "Our digimon can't warp digivolve without help. If only Gennai were here, we could get a power boost from him, or something..."   
  
Infermon charged the group, targeting Garurumon and Kabuterimon first. Two of his arms stretched out, wrapping around the digimon, and drained their energy. Tossing the now Rookie level digimon away, Infermon moved to attack the rest of the beings there. Leomon dodged his first attack, slashing at Infermon's side with his sword. "We could use some HELP here!" Leomon yelled.  
  
"On it!" Pyroangemon grabbed Infermon, dragging the digimon back from the others. As he did, Infermon wrapped an arm around the angel, trying to drain his energy. -An Ultimate digimon should be a nice power-up-, it thought to itself  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"That's enough of THAT!" Pyroangemon summoned his sword, and slashed at the limb holding him. The two separated, and traded blows.  
  
"How come he wasn't drained?" June asked.  
  
"Scanning" Izzy replied tersely. After a few moments, his computer beeped, showing several strands of DNA. "Got it. According to my computer, Pyroangemon is a hybrid of pokemon and digimon DNA."  
  
"So?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Infermon was able to adapt the Giga Drain attack to gather digital information" Izzy said. "But pokemon like the ones Crystal had are biological, not digital. They can't provide the energy Infermon needs. Remember, he didn't digivolve until after he had drained the energy out of a digimon."  
  
June got it. "So Pyroangemon's a sort of biological digimon?" Izzy nodded. "That must be why he was able to ignore the control spires; he wasn't really a digimon, so the spires couldn't stop him from digivolving."  
  
The fight between Pyroangemon and Infermon had climbed up the side of the mountain, neither combatant gaining an advantage. Getting frustrated, Infermon made a wild leap at the angel. Pyroangemon dodged, and caught Infermon with a glancing blow from his shield. The insane digimon was knocked back, hitting the side of the mountain.  
  
"Now! ATOM FORCE!" Pyroangemon flew straight at his enemy, intent on impaling Infermon on his sword. However, when he struck, the image of Infermon faded. "A double team!" He didn't see the real Infermon until it was too late; the digimon appeared above the angel, firing energy blasts wildly. Caught unawares, Pyroangemon was quickly knocked out by the attack. The angel glowed, and reverted to Eevee.  
  
"Eevee, return" Kyle called, putting Eevee into his pokeball. "We're in trouble. Unless...?" Kyle looked at Leomon.  
  
"I'm sorry. I lost the ability to warp-digivolve when I was reformatted." Leomon shifted his grip on his sword. "Not that that's going to stop me."  
  
Arcanine nodded. "Me either. The two of us can take him."  
  
"Guys, he's an ultimate" Izzy said. "There's no chance..."  
  
"Eevee may not be able to fight" Kyle said, "But Arcanine still can. TAKE DOWN!"  
  
"Leomon, back him up" June called.  
  
Roaring, Arcanine charged Infermon. The digimon turned, ready to fire, (Metalgarurumon charging, missiles firing) hesitated, and was spun around as the pokemon hit it.  
  
"Don't forget me!" Leomon ran towards Infermon, jumped, and flew straight at the digimon, intent on punching Infermon's lights out. Infermon tried to dodge (Wargreymon flying at him, fist pulled back). The blow hit Infermon, knocking him flat.   
  
"Not..again...NOT AGAIN!" Infermon jumped, knocking its two attackers away, and flew into the chamber at the top of Mount Moon. Inside, Infermon attacked the remaining moon stones that were in the chamber. The Clefairy there had transported almost all of them out, but the small pile that was left was more than enough to power Infermon's digivolution. Greedily, he sucked all the energy he could out of the energized stones. "Infermon, digivolve to...Diaboromon!"  
  
"No" everyone yelled. Then they saw a bright light come from the top of the mountain. The release of energy from the digivolution blew off the top of Mount Moon, leaving a flattened plane on top of the mountain. The smoke cleared, and Diaboromon stood up.  
  
==Cerulean City  
  
"I want to know what's going on right now!" Crystal Melin, now thoroughly annoyed, stared down TK, waiting for an explanation of the days events. "First my pokemon get drained by some weird blob thingy, then you appear on a flying horse that turns into...something, that blob thing flies off, and now you won't even tell me what kind of pokemon that was?"  
  
"Please sir," Tycho asked, "will Tsumemon be alright? What happened to him?"  
  
"Well...Tsumemon wasn't really a pokemon..."  
  
"That's nuts! It looked like a pokemon, sounded like a pokemon, OK, it was able to speak, but still, it even evolved, what more do you want" Crystal demanded.   
  
TK struggled for an answer. "It's...like a Porygon! It's not a real pokemon, just a computer program gone wrong!" -I hope Patamon doesn't hear me saying that.-  
  
"You've got to be kidding me" Crystal replied.  
  
A news report came in on the TV, saving TK. "This just in...A giant monster is reported to be rampaging near Mount Moon. So far, sources have not been able to get a description of what kind of pokemon it is...wait, I've just been told that two pokemon trainers are battling it now...we're getting a live feed now. Marty?"  
  
"Thanks, Ellen" a new voice said, slightly staticy. "I'm sorry for the quality, but something is interfering with the electronics on this newscopter. We can get a picture...yes, there are one, no two trainers battling the monster...Ellen, I don't recognize what they're fighting, it's some kind of humanoid being, I'm not sure it's even a pokemon."  
  
"What about the two trainers fighting it?"  
  
"It looks like one is using...I don't recognize it, it's humanoid as well, some kind of lion type, the other trainer is definitely using an Arcanine...wait, a third trainer is moving in, she has what looks like a Pidgey..." The TV switched, showing the image that was transmitted from the new copter.  
  
"Hey, that's Kyle" Crystal said. "And June...but who's that big pokemon with her...?"  
  
TK recognized the digimon the two were attacking instantly. "Diaboromon...no..."   
  
==  
  
In the Johto region, a young trainer and his Pikachu watched the newscast along with an older, darker skinned boy. Across the hall, a redheaded girl was calling her sisters in Cerulean, trying to find out is they were alright.  
  
On Cinnabar Island, another young trainer watched the newscast. When the shot focussed on Leomon, his eyes opened wide. "A digimon..." he breathed. He then ran for the nearest phone. He had to get there. If digimon were here, on this world, then maybe...  
  
==Four years ago  
  
"Biyomon...I'm so sorry."  
  
"Sora? What's wrong?" Biyomon looked at her friend now. Sora had calmed down, though she still wasn't smiling. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone else. Well, except maybe Palmon. Of course, she'll go tell Tentomon...and Gomamon...and he'll tell that Floramon we met a few weeks back...and Unimon...and that Elecmon that appeared in Primary Village...Oh, just tell me anyway."  
  
Sora smiled a bit, Biyomon's joke getting through the girl's sadness. "It's...it's stupid."  
  
"Is it about that fight with Diaboromon?" The smile left Sora's face. "Oh...bad choice of words...well, it's not your fault. Diaboromon had almost every computer on the Internet messed up, I know you tried to get through!"  
  
"I didn't." Biyomon blinked, unsure of how to respond. "I was so busy being mad at Tai that...I didn't even know what was happening...and he even asked me for help but..." Sora put her head in her hands. "And he has to go...save the world without me...Oh Biyomon, I let everyone down..."  
  
Sora's door opened, and Tai came bursting in. "SORA! I'm sorry for whatever it is I did! I'll undo whatever happened! Name it!"  
  
Biyomon, all innocence, asked "Are you apologizing for saving the world?"  
  
"Uh...? Well, if that's what it takes..." Tai stammered.  
  
==Present. And boy, are they deep in it...  
  
"Sora? What are you doing here" June asked as the other girl ran up.  
  
"We're helping" Biyomon said, charging in.  
  
"That's crazy" Kyle exclaimed. "Biyomon's too exhausted to fight. Besides, Diaboromon's a mega level digimon, right?"  
  
"I don't care" Biyomon replied. "There's no Primary Village for pokemon, right?"  
  
Kyle nodded, not saying anything for a minute. Then, "alright. Keep him distracted, I'll try to catch him."  
  
The three monsters nodded. They attacked, launching their best techniques at Diaboromon, while Kyle pulled out a pokeball. "It's not permanent, but we can hold him till we figure out what to do...Digi-ball, GO!"  
  
The small red and white sphere flew at Diaboromon. On hitting it, the ball opened, and drew the monster inside. Confined, Diaboromon felt the energy from the ball trying to remove it from this plane of existence. It panicked, releasing a vast amount of energy at once. The ball seemed to fluoresce, then it exploded, throwing Diaboromon's opponents back. Partially buried and dazed, they watched as the digimon rematerialized.  
  
"I...I think we made it mad" Biyomon said.  
  
"Oh sure, give us the good news first" Arcanine replied.   
  
"This battle cannot be delayed" Leomon added. "We have to finish it here. There's no one else that can stop it."  
  
"So let's stop it already" Arcanine growled. "Dragon Rage!"  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!"  
  
"Spiral Twister!"  
  
Diaboromon all but ignored the attacks. Remembering how it was beaten last time, the digimon turned its attention to the humans. "Cable Crusher!"  
  
"Look out!" Arcanine and Leomon yelled, running to protect their partners, wishing for enough power to save them...  
  
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"  
  
(Or, "Uindii...Leomon...Jogress Shinka...Komainumon!" for you purists. We at Farfetched Productions like keeping everyone happy...)  
  
Kyle blinked. When his eyes opened, a new digimon had appeared and stopped the attack. He was humanoid, covered with light golden fur with black stripes. Well muscled, it wore some sort of dark grey, loose, baggy, sleeveless outfit, that looked like one of those sleeveless kung fu uniforms that Kyle had seen when Davis had taken him to one of those horrible B grade martial arts movies. The digimon was carrying a long staff, apparently made of wood, tipped with gold at each end. A black blindfold completed the outfit, though there was a beautiful eye embroidered in gold on it.  
  
"Ko..mainumon" Kyle breathed.  
  
"DNA...digivolve" June asked in that same quiet voice. Then, she noticed her digivice had changed. "My D-3" she said. "It changed colour!" Her digivice now had a red body, matching Kyle's pokedex. Checking his pokedex, he noticed that the outline of the digivice was now purple. As he watched, his pokedex shifted, reshaping itself into what looked like an oversized D-3!  
  
"Just like four years ago..." Matt said, watching the fight.  
  
Izzy checked his laptop, scanning the digimon. "According to this, his name's Komainumon. He's a DNA digivolved digimon, formed from the combination of Arcanine and Leomon. His special attack is Celestial Edict and...oh no..."  
  
"What" Matt asked, worried.  
  
"According to this, he's only an Ultimate level digimon. That's not enough to stop a Mega!"  
  
Komainumon either didn't hear Izzy, or didn't care. "Dragon's Fang!" The attack fired from Komainumon's fist, reminding June of Leomon's Fist of the Beast King. However, this attack was shaped like a dragon's head, and instead of exploding, it bit down on Diaboromon, forcing it back. Komainumon moved in. Diaboromon's counter attack pushed Komainumon back, and the two started fighting in earnest.  
  
Sora watched the two fight. "Well, come on!" Biyomon said to her. At Sora's blank expression, Biyomon asked "We have to help them, right? You heard Izzy, Komainumon alone isn't enough!"  
  
"But you can't digivolve" Sora protested. "Ever since I lost my crest..."  
  
"What does that have to do with it" Biyomon demanded. "Is this because you weren't there the first time Diaboromon appeared?"  
  
"I was so busy being mad at Tai..."  
  
"And? He's over it!" Biyomon looked her friend in the eyes. "What was it we learned when we faced Apocalymon? That the power that helps me digivolve comes from you, right?" Sora nodded. "So, I say I still have the power to digivolve!"  
  
Sora started to protest again, but stopped. A Clefairy was offering her a small moon stone. "I'm sorry" she said sadly. "I appreciate it, but Biyomon's a digimon, not a pokemon."  
  
The Clefairy nodded, as several other Clefairy joined her, forming a circle around the two. Placing the stone in Sora's hands, they started chanting 'clefairy, clefairy, clefairy' over and over. As they did, their hands started to glow.   
  
Closer to the fight, Kyle shouted to Komainumon. "Can you still battle?"  
  
"Have to......get back to you...on that." The DNA Digimon parried a series of blasts from Diaboromon, then launched another Dragon Fang. "I could use a little help here!"  
  
Kyle racked his brain. Eevee was out, none of his other pokemon were nearly strong enough to battle a Mega-level digimon..."June, any ideas?"  
  
"Kyle, what's happening with those Clefairy over there?"  
  
Kyle looked where June was pointing. "That's...Sora, get clear!" He turned to face June. "That's a metronome! There's no telling what will happen!" Before Kyle could do more, the Clefairy finished, and activated the Metronome.  
  
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the Moon Stone in Sora's hand glowed, and reshaped itself. Its new form was small and rectangular, a form Sora recognized instantly. "A crest" she breathed. The insignia on it was hers, the crest of love. She remembered the pendant Tai gave her, only a few hours ago. "I'm here for you Tai. Always."  
  
Biyomon felt a wave of power hit her, more than she had ever felt before. "Biyomon, warp digivolve to...Phoenixmon!" The bird digimon, rainbow coloured and majestic, spread her wings and flew. "Crimson Flare!"  
  
The attack hit Diaboromon, driving it back. It was too weak to face another Mega digimon; it had expended too much energy fighting as it was. It jumped, trying to escape. To everyone's surprise, Diaboromon managed to fly.  
  
"It's getting away" Komainumon snarled. He saw Phoenixmon getting ready to pursue. "Wait. If you attack, he'll drain your energy."  
  
Phoenixmon thought for a second. "Get on. You should be immune, if you've got Arcanine's DNA in you. You open him up-"  
  
"And you finish him off. Sounds good." Komainumon hopped up on Phoenixmon's back, and the two shot off skywards.  
  
As Diaboromon flew erratically away, it cursed itself for taking so long in the fight. He didn't notice the shadow of Phoenixmon flying past him, so focussed the digimon was on escaping. -If only I had finished those humans- it thought to itself.  
  
"Hey!" Diaboromon looked up, saw the two digimon he was escaping from above him. The humanoid one, Komainumon, had his staff held out, emerald coloured energy crackling along it. Then, to Diaboromon's surprise, Komainumon jumped off Phoenixmon's back, flying straight at him, and yelled "Celestial Edict!" The energy concentrated on one end of his staff, forming into what looked like a sharp blade. Komainumon tackled Diaboromon in midair, twisted around on impact, and wound up holding Diaboromon's arms behind the insane digimon's back. "Phoenixmon, now!"  
  
Phoenixmon flew down towards the two, glowing a bright red. "Starlight Explosion" she cried, striking Diaboromon and releasing the energy she had built up. There was a huge white flare of light, blinding everyone on the ground. June, Sora, and Kyle looked up, fearing for the lives of their partners.  
  
The flare of the explosion died away, as did the smoke. Of Diaboromon there was no trace; the combined attacks had managed to obliterate the monster. They could just make out Biyomon, flapping her wings madly, holding the other two monsters by their tails.  
  
"A LITTLE HELP HERE" Biyomon yelled, starting to lose altitude.  
  
==  
  
Tycho sat outside the Cerulean pokemon center, still saddened by the day's events. TK had finally broken down and told the two trainers about digimon, even going as far as to armour-digivolve Patamon when the digimon had recovered, as a demonstration. TK walked outside, saw the boy moping. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened" he said awkwardly.  
  
"He was...nice. I just wanted another friend." Tycho's Squirtle patted the boy on the shoulder.  
  
TK frowned a bit. "There's something you should know about Keramon. Some of my friends fought him about 4 years ago. He was...trying to hurt a lot of people."  
  
"That can't have been the same one" Tycho insisted. "I found Tsumemon in an egg not too far from here, only a few weeks ago!"  
  
TK managed to hold his surprise in. -An egg?- he thought madly to himself. -How did an egg holding one of our toughest enemies get here?- "It was the same one. Crystal said that Tsumemon said something about remembering everything during your fight with her, right? And when Pegasusmon battled him, Keramon recognized me, too." TK noticed Tycho slumping down a bit more. "Hey" he said softly, "you didn't know, there was nothing you could do."  
  
"I know" Tycho said. "I just wish..."  
  
Crystal walked out of the center, Espeon beside her. "Nurse Joy said she's almost finished with Agumon." TK sighed with relief. "Hey, can my Espeon do that? What Patamon did?"  
  
"Umm...whaa?"  
  
"You know, that digivolution thing! I saw Kyle and June's pokemon evolve together on TV, so how about it? You are friends, right?"  
  
"Well...it's kind of a special circumstance..."   
  
"Does it have to do with the fact that Kyle and June are dating" Patamon asked innocently. TK went bug-eyed, staring at his partner. As TK stammered a reply, The other digidestined came into view.  
  
"Typical," Matt called. "We save the world and my little brother goes flirting!"  
  
"MATT!" TK saw Kyle and June carrying their partner monsters, Biyomon riding on Matt's shoulder. "What happened?" He looked again, noticed some people were missing. "And where are Tai and Sora?"  
  
Matt and Kyle grinned, not saying anything. June noticed the two, sighed, and answered "they'll be along in a minute."  
  
==  
  
"I'm glad you're alright Tai."  
  
Tai, finally having regained consciousness, grinned weakly back at Sora. "Hey you know me. Too stubborn to know when to stop." His expression softened a bit. "Matt told me what happened."  
  
"I don't know how it happened" Sora replied. "I just wanted to save you, then those Clefairy started chanting, and the next thing I know, Biyomon was able to warp-digivolve." Tai smiled, trying to find something witty to say. Sora caught him, realized that Tai wasn't sure what to say next. "You're trying too hard again" she teased. "You don't have to be the cool hero today."  
  
"I don't?...I mean, I don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
Sora sighed, smiling. "Stupid Tai" she said quietly, fondly. "Stupid, stupid Tai..."  
  
When the two rejoined the group two minutes later, Tai was still smiling like an idiot. He stayed that way until Kari got a picture of him. Then the chase began.  
  
And on that note....  
Next Episode:  
Plans laid four years ago fall into ruin as an old enemy of the digidestined meets his fate. Cody learns about his father, and some similarities they shared. Cody's grandfather faces an unusual opponent, Gatomon meets an old friend, and new foes draw their plans for all three worlds. Next on Digimon: Digicross;  
'Change of Enemies' 


	14. Change of Enemies

==Human World 

"Upamon, get out of there" Cody hissed. "Grandpa might hear you!" 

"I can't, I'm stuck" Upamon said, voice muffled. The digimon was trapped inside Cody's Kendo helmet, and Cody was madly trying to get him out before his grandfather entered. Preferably without ripping the helmet to shreds in the process. With a final grunt, Upamon was pulled free. "Thanks. I don't know how I got stuck in there!" 

Cody sighed. "You've been snacking again. I can't let grandpa find you, you know that!" 

"Why not? You could just tell him." 

"I don't want him to worry about me. If he knew about you, I'd have to tell him about what I've been doing in the digital world." 

"Uh, Cody-" 

"I can't lie to my grandfather, I hate what I'm doing as it is." 

"Cody" Upamon started to say. 

"Look, I don't want to tell you how to run your life, but you have to be more careful-" At that point, Cody became aware of a presence behind him. Slowly he turned to face his grandfather, standing at the entrance to the dojo, small smile on his face. 

"I trust" he said calmly, "there is quite a story behind this." 

Digimon: Digicross Episode 13   
'Change of Enemies' 

==Digital World 

Gatomon sat outside the edge of Primary Village, somewhat downcast. With the excitement of the last few days, she had completely forgotten to check if any new digimon had hatched. Or re-hatched, she hoped. 

"Waiting for someone?" 

Gatomon looked at the speaker. It was about her height, had wings, and looked like a baby dragon. "No. I think I missed him. You new here?" 

The digimon nodded. "Yeah, hatched a few days ago. Name's Monodramon, I'm a rookie digimon." 

Gatomon eyed the digimon. "Rookie already? That was quick." 

"Yeah. Everyone that's hatched ever since the Emperor was defeated has digivolved at a faster rate. My friend said that there was some threat coming and the digital world was preparing for something." Monodramon shrugged. "Ah, he gets like that. Always saying some sort of darkness is coming." 

Gatomon smiled a bit. "Sounds like someone I used to know." 

"I had no idea I was in a rut," a third voice said, stepping into view. 

Gatomon recognized the voice instantly. "WIZARDMON" she yelled. 

==Not the Digital World. Boy, is this guy in for a shock... 

Ukyo Oikawa wandered around. "Is this..." he started to ask, unsure of where he was. He had been all ready to chew out Arukenimon, when she had simply said 'Here's the portal you've always wanted', waved a hand, and a hole simply appeared. And, the resistance he had felt the prior times he had tried to enter the digital world was not there. 

Arukenimon nodded. "It is the place you've always longed to be." 

"Well, it's taken long enough. Where were you, anyway" Oikawa asked, a bit suspicious. He hadn't heard from Mummymon for ages now, and Arukenimon seemed to vanish, almost for days on end. When questioned, she only evaded it, promising that she was working on a way to bring him to the Digital World. 

"Oh, here and there." Arukenimon stopped, as if listening to something. Oikawa didn't notice. 

Oikawa looked around. "I'm finally doing it," he said. "I'm going to the digital world...oh, Hiroki, if you could be here..." As he walked, he saw the end to the long tunnel he was walking through. "Is that-" 

"It is just where you wanted to go" Arukenimon repeated. "Don't wait for me, please, go on ahead, it'll still be there when I arrive." As she spoke, a small black shape detached itself from the end of the portal and moved towards them. As Oikawa watched, the figure became more resolved as it approached. It was black, catlike, and had long white claws on the ends of its paws. 

"Is that...a digimon?" 

Arukenimon smiled. "Of a sort. What have you to report, Sneasel?" 

The creature stopped at the feet of Arukenimon, bowed, and spoke. "All is in readiness, mistress. Our lord waits the return of your creator." 

Oikawa's eyes went wide. He did not know why, but this place was suddenly familiar to him. "You...you betrayed me!" 

"Not at all" Arukenimon replied sweetly. "I merely arranged your return to the fold. I thought you'd be happy, Oikawa. Or should I say Myotismon?" 

Oikawa, feeling fear for the first time in a while, turned and tried to run. Somehow, he knew exactly where he was. Sneasel, seeing the opportunity, jumped to the attack. "ICE CLAW!" Ukyo felt a wave of cold come over him, then nothing more. 

==Digital World 

"When did you make it back?" 

Wizardmon smiled a bit, sitting down next to Gatomon. "Just after Ken was freed from the darkness. Have you seen him?" 

Gatomon shook her head. "No. Yolei said he saved her and Hawkmon in the pokemon world, though." 

"So Kaiser-boy's gone good now," Monodramon asked. 

"He did manage to activate Yolei's digiegg" Gatomon said. Monodramon waved his hands, trying to show he didn't mean offense. "Sorry. Been through a lot." 

"So Gennai told me. Has anyone figured out how Diaboromon made it to this alternate world?" 

"No. From what we know, a boy named Tycho found a digiegg just lying in the forest." Wizardmon stayed silent, thinking. "Monodramon said you told him that some darkness was threatening the digital world. Is that connected with it?" 

Wizardmon looked up. "It may be. Since I have returned, the feeling of menace has remained, even grown stronger. And..." 

"What?" 

Wizardmon had an unpleasant expression on his face. "As you know, when a digimon is defeated in the digital world, he reincarnates at Primary Village. Any digimon beaten outside of the digital world is trapped on that plane, unless someone brings the 'spirit', if you will, of that digimon back home. 

"Phantomon's data was never returned here." 

==Tokyo 

Cody had told the entire story to his grandfather; as he said to Upamon, he couldn't lie to his grandfather (truth be told, the little guy's a ROTTEN liar. Part of his charm ^_^ -ed). "Interesting," his grandfather said. "It sounds much like the stories your father told me when he was your age." 

Cody stared, dumbstruck. "My father...?" 

"Yes. Your father told me stories about little monsters on the computer screen. I thought he was playing too much 'Pong' at the time, myself." His grandfather looked at Upamon. "So, Upamon is his name, yes?" 

Cody nodded to his grandfather. "I wanted to tell you about him, but I promised..." 

"As I said, I understand. And your mother would no doubt worry. Upamon...yes, that is what your father called one of the creatures he saw. I remember now. If he were here now, I imagine he would be having quite a laugh at his gruff old father's expense." 

"You...knew...?" 

"I'm old, not stupid" Cody's grandfather replied, smiling. "And when the sky tore open four years ago, I immediately thought of all those stories your father and his friend told me. Though I never imagined that my own grandson would get involved. I assume your friends are also involved with this 'digital world' you speak of?" Cody nodded. "Now don't act like I am going to forbid you from being with your friends. Ever since the school year started, I have noticed a change in you; you have become more open and willing to have fun. I like that in a student. Whatever experiences you have had have made you a better person." 

Cody didn't know what to say for a minute. Then, "Grandpa, you said dad had a friend?" 

"Hm? Ah, Oikawa, I think. Yes, Ukyo Oikawa. Ukyo was a quiet man who did not make friends easily. Even when he was visiting here, I barely saw him. But he and your father were nearly inseparable. They did everything together; I think I might have gotten a little jealous." 

"Where is he now" Cody asked. 

"To be honest, I have not seen him since your father's funeral. I do not think he took it well. If only..." He noticed Cody's inquiring look. "I could have accepted him, tried to make an effort. Even after the funeral, I always had something else to do, rather than track down your father's friends." He got up, walked over to a bookcase, pulled out an album. Paging through it, he stopped at a set of pictures. "Here he is." Cody looked at the picture his grandfather indicated. 

"He looks..." Cody was not sure how to describe the picture. His father looked happy, but Ukyo was...darker, in a way. 

"Ukyo always had a hard time making friends. I still wonder whatever happened to him." 

==Dark Ocean. 

Oikawa woke up, found himself wrapped in a chain. As his eyes opened, he saw a hooded digimon watching over him, large scythe glowing gold in the darkened room. "So, my former master awakens" Phantomon said sarcastically. He floated off into another room. A minute later, he came back in, with Arukenimon, Sneasel, and another creature he did not recognize...wait, he did. A name came to Oikawa's lips. 

"D...Demon." Oikawa blinked several times, confused. "How...how..." 

Arukenimon smiled, this time letting the evil show through. "As I said, he remembers nothing." The figure nodded once, and stepped forward, clawed hand outstretched. 

"Then I must truly apologize" the figure said insincerely. "You see, you have an...old friend of mine living within you. But if he's too scared to come out, I suppose I shall have to drag him out of you." Demon walked over to Oikawa, and added, almost conversationally, "you may feel some discomfort." 

For a moment, Oikawa felt nothing. Then the sensation of having his soul ripped out of his body hit him, and he screamed in pain. "Please, you should be thanking me" Demon said casually. "Myotismon was doing a lot of damage to your body. Nice guy, but never the best houseguest. Must have been from that time he never got a 'Tickle me Bakemon' when he was an Infant digimon. Ah, here we go." Demon pulled his hand back, a long trail of purple mist coming from Oikawa's head. Oikawa, the pain having finally proved too much, passed out. The mist in Demon's hand took form, and resolved into another humanoid figure, dressed in blue, with a dark purple cape. Fangs could be seen in his mouth, and he wore a red mask over his eyes. 

"Whuu...how..." Myotismon tried to speak. 

"Ahh, welcome back, old friend" Demon said. "It has been a while hasn't it?"   


==Digital World 

Gatomon blinked. "But he was sent back at the same time you were! I saw it!" 

"Yes. But as I was returning to the digital world, I felt a presence, something reaching for me between the worlds. It got Phantomon." 

Gatomon felt a sudden chill. "Myotismon was beaten in the human world. Did he...?" 

"I do not know. When I was trapped in your world, I never felt his essence as I could Phantomon's." 

"Eh, no need to worry" Monodramon said. The two other digimon looked at the rookie. "Hey, from what Wizzy told me," Wizardmon frowned a bit at the nickname, "Those two were bad news. Maybe they got sucked off to Digital Hades or something." 

"The powers of darkness should never be taken lightly," Wizardmon said, "or dismissed out of hand." Monodramon shrugged, apparently unconcerned. 

Sighing, Wizardmon changed the subject. "So, how is Kari these days?" 

==Dark Ocean 

"It seems that your plans have failed again, Myotismon" Demon said. "But, for the benefit of our new converts, let's have a quick recap, shall we?" Myotismon shuddered in pain, as Demon's grip on his throat tightened. 

"In a way, you were always my favorite. Devimon was...so full of himself, and Etemon couldn't carry a tune in a dump truck. And the Dark Masters, please. But you always had a...style I admired. 

"But you couldn't settle for number two, could you? As soon as Ken and Ryo beat Milleniumon, you panicked and made plans to take Earth. In a way, I should be grateful. Those annoying kids were out of the way long enough for me to set the Dark Masters loose on the Digital World. And you would have had a share of it all, your own little domain to call your own. Well, you would have had to fight Devimon for it, had that useless idiot survived. Ah, Myotismon. The greatest of my lieutenants, giving in to his own ambition. And once you were beaten, even after digivolving all the way to Mega, you didn't have the decency to dissipate like a good little dead digimon. You had to invade the body of this poor fool here," Demon indicated Ukyo Oikawa's unconscious body, "spend the last four years tearing him up from the inside, and then, to top it all off, you actually want to -destroy- the digital world." 

"I...I only..." 

"Please. 'Weaken the barriers so that I can enter'? We both know what that would entail old friend. And I have invested too much time in planning my takeover of the Digital world to see it reduced to a barren waste. I prefer enslaved subjects to not be deleted before I have a chance to gloat over them, thank you. So when your 'creation' came to me and explained everything that had happened," he took a moment to nod to Arukenimon, "I felt the need to set up this little talk." Myotismon started struggling again, sensing what was about to happen. "Myotismon, you were always an amusing 'mon to have around, but frankly, you bore me now. Farewell, old friend." Demon's grip tightened, and Myotismon, managing a strangled scream of pain, disintegrated into a field of small particles. The bits shimmered, and then were drawn into Demon's body. Demon exited the room, saying "well, that was fun. If you will excuse me, ladies." 

==Human World, Hida Dojo 

"Are you sure about this" Kyle whispered to Cody. 

"I have practiced kendo most of my life, young man" Cody's grandfather addressed Kyle. Cody's grandfather was dressed in his full kendo outfit, shinai held in the ready position. At the other end of the mat, Marowak stood silently, bone club held loosely in one hand. "Cody told me all about this...pokemon?" Kyle nodded. "I am curious about his style of fighting." 

"Uh...sure" Kyle said. Then, the trainer turned to Marowak. "No throwing or Earthquakes, got it?" Marowak nodded. 

Pokemon and human faced each other, waiting for the first move. Mr. Hida took note of Marowak's stance. "Reverse left hand" he said quietly, "almost like he's holding a dagger..." With a grunt, he charged, making the first strike. 

Marowak blocked the attack with his club, and the two dueled. Marowak's shorter weapon was offset by his smaller size, meaning he could (and did) get inside the reach of Mr. Hida's shinai, forcing the instructor to back off. At the same time, Marowak had a hard time getting close enough to actually launch an attack; Mr. Hida was quite good at keeping the pokemon out of range, and on the defensive. 

After several minutes of dueling, the two combatants nodded to each other, signaling that it was time to end the fight. Mr. Hida lowered his shinai until it was level with the floor, at waist height. Marowak held his bone club in both hands, like a sword. For an eternal second, the two stood motionless... 

Kyle and Cody blinked, and almost missed it. The two fighters charged each other. At the last second, Marowak leaped up, swung as he passed Cody's grandfather, and rolled. Mr. Hida stopped short, not moving for a second. Kyle feared that Marowak had injured the kendo teacher; then, seemingly in slow motion, Kyle and Cody watched as Mr. Hida's shinai fell to the ground, cut cleanly in two! From behind the mask, Cody could hear his grandfather laughing. 

"Excellently played" Mr. Hida said, pulling the mask and helmet off. He turned, and bowed to Marowak, who returned the gesture. 

"Umm...sorry about the sword..." Kyle stammered. 

Mr. Hida waved him off. "It is easily replaced. Come, you must tell me how he was trained." 

==Digital World 

After several hours of reminiscing, Wizardmon looked up, searching for something. "It seems I have to go now." He looked over at Monodramon, who had dozed off. "Up with you, lizard. It's time." 

"For what" Gatomon asked. Smiling, Wizardmon held out an arm. "Nothing up my sleeve" he joked, opening his palm. In it was a digivice! "You're..." 

"Yes. It seems that I have a partner for me somewhere, as does Monodramon. We have to go to the Human world and find them." 

"Can't we just wait here" Monodramon groused. 

"Partners just don't fall out of the sky" Wizardmon retorted. 

"Agumon's did!" Wizardmon had no answer for that. 

==Dark Ocean 

With a wave of his hand, the table that held Oikawa appeared before Demon. "Now, what to do with you" he asked the still unconscious human. "Can't eat him, can't drink him, can't spend him...I know." Muttering to himself in a foul sounding tongue, a mist appeared over Oikawa's body. "It's not the digital world, but you should enjoy yourself in the Pokemon world. Before I conquer it." Oikawa's body faded. "Now, what next...ah, yes. Arukenimon!" The digimon and her companion pokemon walked into the room. "Notify Dagomon that it is time. Is the...project...ready?" 

Arukenimon bowed. "It is. The portal to the Pokemon world is weak; we can only send a few Ultimate digimon at best. The portal to the digital world is ready at your discretion." 

"Good. Send Larvitar to the Digital World. He is to wait there until I contact him, then proceed as planned. As for the pokemon world...Ken seems to have taken an interest in that place, I should send him something...memorable." Demon chuckled evilly. 

"At once" Arukenimon said, exiting. 

Outside, Sneasel asked, "who is this 'Mummymon' I heard mentioned?" 

Arukenimon frowned a bit. "Oikawa created him to be my partner; in reality, he was an idiot who spent more time making passes at me than doing anything productive. After I joined Demon's forces, Mummymon was dealt with." At Sneasel's inquiring look, Arukenimon pulled out a small red and white sphere, hung on a simple silver chain. Toying with the pokeball, she said "Still, he got his wish; I keep him near my heart always."   


==Human World. Canada (Where it ain't all snow. Large bits, granted, but it is nice and sunny in parts.) 

Stuart leaned back, eyes a bit sore. He had been on the computer for some hours now, reading over the content of several newsgroups. "Too bad there's not a repeat of that battle I saw four years ago" he muttered to himself. 

The monitor decided to humor his wish; at that moment, it glowed bright white, and the next thing Stuart knew, he had a double armful of Monodramon. The digimon looked up, glowed blue, and a D-3 appeared. It fell into Stuart's hand, beeping loudly for a second. "So, I guess I'm your partner" Monodramon said brightly. 

"....." 

==Human World, America (Midwest), about the same time... 

Seth looked idly out the window. His family seemed to have no problem with pulling up stakes from New York, and haul everyone several day's worth of driving in an overcrowded minivan and U-Haul trailer to what his dad referred to as 'new digs'. 

Seth hated it. He didn't know anyone, all his friends were back in New York. At least they had a computer and an internet connection; email wasn't much, but it was something. 

"Wonder how Michael's doing" he wondered to himself. "Or Steve." He switched on the computer, deciding to let his old friends know where he was. 

2 seconds after connecting to the Net, Seth had the odd sensation of taking a several seconds-long blink. When his eyes opened, there was a short humanoid standing beside him, dressed in a tattered cape and a pointy hat. In one hand was a yellow staff with what looked like a carving of a sun on it. 

"Hello Seth, I am Wizardmon." 

==Pokemon World 

Crystal Melin sighed slightly. She was at the Celadon Pokemon center, having Espeon checked out. She had a gym battle to fight, and she wanted her pokemon in top form. 

"Digimon" she said to herself, recalling the fight she had watched at Mount Moon. "I wonder if I'll ever see another one." Or TK, she added mentally. Sighing again, she walked over to the PC terminal, and accessed her mail. She blinked, as she saw one new message, with an attachment. Curious, she opened the mail. 

The screen immediately filled with gibberish, and a low whining noise came from the computer. On the transport pad below the screen, a faint glow caught her attention. In the small recess where pokeballs were normally sent and received, there was a small teardrop shaped device, the grips colored green. "Just like the one TK has" Crystal said, holding the digivice in her hand. 

"Miss?" 

Crystal turned, startled. "Don't DO that" she yelped. 

The boy smiled, pushing his had through his brown hair. "Sorry. Listen, You wouldn't know someone else who has a device like the one you have now? About my age, dark hair, had a small monster that looked like a Caterpie but wasn't?" Crystal shook her head. "Nuts. Oh, sorry, I'm being rude. Name's Ryo."   


==Next Episode   
Ken finally confronts the rest of the digidestined, and reveals what he knows about the opponents they are facing. An old friend reappears, and the Pokemon world faces its greatest threat yet. Next, on 'Digimon: Digicross';   
"Legendary Trainer, Ryo" 


	15. Legendary Trainer Ryo

Digimon: Digicross Episode 14   
'Legendary Trainer Ryo' 

OP: Digicross Opening, created by Prima. 

"Well, I'm waiting" June said, a bit impatiently. Kyle and his would be opponent twitched nervously. "We did have a lunch date today, right? Or is pokemon battling more important than me?" 

"That...that's not true" Kyle protested. "I just lost track of time! Really!" Beside him, Scizor and the other trainer's Charmeleon twitched, not sure whether to fight or just watch this little melodrama unfold. 

"It's not his fault entirely," the other trainer said. "I did challenge him. I even told him it wouldn't take that long." 

"He's not off the hook yet" June replied. 

A few feet off, Growlithe and Elecmon watched. "Busted, I take it" Elecmon asked rhetorically. 

Growlithe answered anyway. "Yeah. Well, I could have said something." Behind him, the bushes made a crackling noise, and Eevee and a small red pokemon rolled out. "Hey, watch it you two!" 

"Mag? Magby" the small pokemon asked, looking at Elecmon. 

"Err...Rai raichu?" Growlithe sighed, watching Elecmon's performance. "Well," he whispered to Growlithe, "it's not like I speak the language!" 

The movement attracted the trainer's attention. "Magby, there you are. I-" He trailed off, seeing Elecmon for the first time. "You're a...digimon" he asked, hesitantly. Elecmon nodded. He then looked at Kyle and June. "Hey, you're the ones from Mount Moon, aren't you? I thought you looked familiar!" The trainer reached for his belt, and pulled out a familiar object. "Do you know what this is" he asked, holding out his digivice. 

"That's a D-3" June exclaimed. "How did you get one? Who are you anyway?" 

"Ryo Akiyama." 

==Digital World 

Yolei and Aquillamon flew over a patch of control spires, exploring. "You see anything," the girl asked. 

"Nope, just more spires. One sec." Aquillamon slowed his flight, surveyed a patch of spires, grinning a bit. "Grand Horn" he called, flying through a patch of spires, knocking them down. "There. Now the place looks a bit better" he commented, landing 

Yolei spat some dust out. "Yeah, if you don't mind picking bits of spire out of your hair for a week. You want to warn me the next time you want to do that" she complained. 

"Sorry. I...listen!" The giant bird cocked his head to the side. "I think I hear a fight. Nearby!" 

== 

Nohemon jumped off the remains of the control spire, just as the attack disintegrated the rest of it. The armour digimon surveyed his opponent, looking for any weakness. "This is going to be tricky, Ken." 

"I know" Ken replied. "But whoever reenergized that control spire made it impossible for you to digivolve to Stingmon. Is it-" 

"I saw the spire change into an Apemon, and someone leave the area before it attacked. And that blasted Metallic Fur is keeping my arrows from hurting it." The Murkrow on Nohemon's shoulder lifted off, forcing Apemon to deal with two targets. 

Apemon snarled, swinging his bone stick like a bat, swatting at the bird as he flew around. "Be careful" Ken called. The bird's small size made it hard for Apemon to connect with his attack, though. Plus, the humanoid puppet kept firing arrows at Apemon, annoying more than damaging. 

Angered, Apemon let out a yell, ran past both parts of Nohemon, charging straight at Ken! "Ken!" the Murkrow called, desperately trying to intercept the artificial digimon. 

"BLAST RINGS!" A circular blast of energy hit the ground near Apemon, flinging the attacker into a pile of rocks. As the dust cleared, Ken saw Aquillamon, hovering over Apemon, and Yolei coming towards him. 

-Is Ken attacking digimon again? - Yolei wondered. A shout from Aquillamon got her attention. With a gasp, she saw Apemon getting up, but the upper part of his body was cracked, revealing a shiny, ebony-black surface. 

Apemon roared again, throwing his club at the two humans. Ken pulled Yolei down as the attack shrieked over their heads, as Murkrow flew in. "Night Shade" he called, firing a blast of black energy from his eyes. Aquillamon followed up with another Blast Ring, and Apemon was finished. 

"That was..." 

"A control spire digimon" Ken said, helping Yolei up. "I'm sorry for knocking you down like that. I guess your friends will be along soon, I'd better get going." 

Yolei grabbed Ken's arm. "Not yet, you're not." She dragged the boy over to Aquillamon. "Come on, we're going someplace priv...I mean quiet!" Nohemon glowed, reverted to Wormmon, and hopped on as well. "You're not leaving my sight until you've explained exactly what's going on here!" 

==Pokemon World 

The three trainers and their monsters had retired to a nearby pokemon center. As they rested, Kyle had ordered some drinks for them, and they discussed Ryo's past as a digidestined. "You've been to the digital world," Kyle asked. 

Ryo nodded. "Yeah, a few years back. There was someone else too, but I haven't seen him since. Maybe you know him? His name was Ken Ichijouji." June and Kyle managed to avoid spitting out their drinks. "Umm..." Ryo said slowly, "dark hair, smart kid, had a digimon that looked like a Caterpie but wasn't..." 

Kyle, June, and their partner monsters shared an 'oh god, how do we explain THIS' look. "We've...seen him, yeah. You know him?" 

"Oh yeah. Best friend I ever had," that look again, "we kinda saved the digital world. Or at least a small bit of it...is something wrong? He's alright, isn't he?" 

"And Wormmon" Charmeleon added. "He's alright too, right?" 

"One sec" Kyle said nervously. He got up, pulled June along with him. "How do we tell him that his best friend tried to take over the digital world" he whispered to June. 

June looked at Ryo. "Have you been to the digital world lately?" 

Ryo shook his head. "No. After I came back, the portal closed. I've been looking for another way back, but I've had no luck. Is there a way? I'd love to see Ken again." 

"No one told you?" 

==Digital World. Digitamamon's Diner (Now accepting Japanese Yen, Kanto credits, The Euro, and Canadian money. But not American Express. Show your digivice at the door, get 10% off everything.) 

Aquillamon landed outside the small restaurant, allowed his passengers to get off, and reverted to Hawkmon. "I just flew in from the desert, and boy are my arms tired" he complained. 

"Can it, Hawkmon, this is serious." Yolei resumed her previous job, namely dragging Ken around. 

"Where are we going?" 

"Inside. Saving your life got me thirsty, and good and mad too. Now inside!" Yolei pointed inside the diner. 

"Good and mad...?" 

"Yeah. I go to all the trouble of putting my phone number in that pokegear I gave you, and you have the nerve not to call me back! Now start talking!" Yolei marched Ken inside, Hawkmon and Wormmon following. 

"What's gotten into her" Wormmon asked Hawkmon. 

"I haven't a clue" Hawkmon replied. "It must be one of those human things." 

"We're not going to start fighting again, are we?" 

Hawkmon arched an eyebrow (or would have, if he did -ed). "After you saved my life? That would be a bit rude. Besides, you seem to be a pretty well adjusted digimon, all things considered." 

"Thanks. I think." 

Entering the diner, Yolei looked around, trying to pick out a good seat. It was then that she noticed that there was someone else here. "Davis? What are you doing here?" 

Veemon hopped down from the seat opposite Davis. "Davis thought Kyle and June might be here," he said, missing Davis' gesture to not tell the others. 

"Oh for..." Yolei started. 

"Well, it was my dad's idea" Davis protested. Then he noticed Ken. "Ken? Hey, great to finally see ya! Is he joining us? 'Cause we could use the help keeping an eye on my sis...I mean the Digital World!" 

"What's wrong with his sister" Ken asked Yolei. 

"She's dating" Yolei replied, hoping she only imagined that note of jealousy in her voice. She sat Ken down by Davis, sat opposite the two, and yelled an order for three lemonades. She amended that to six after Hawkmon pointed out that there were digimon present. 

"So, what brings you here" Davis asked. 

"Yolei dragged him here," Hawkmon said, getting a light rap on the skull from Yolei. 

"Ken knows something about those weird digimon we've been fighting lately, and I had hoped we could get some answers out of him." Yolei didn't add that she was still waiting for Ken to call her, and wondering why he hadn't yet, and was all prepared to drag the answer out of Ken, but now that Davis was here and would probably blab it to the rest of the world... 

"Yolei, you're bending cutlery in half" Hawkmon noted. "Please stop it." Guiltily, Yolei dropped the fork she had managed to fold. 

Digitamamon came out, balancing a large plate with the drinks on it on his head. "OK, here you go. Though I still think some egg-drop soup would...HEY!" The tray fell to the floor as Digitamamon hopped back. "What kind of joke is this?" 

"What do you mean" Veemon asked. 

"Him" the egg digimon said, indicating (no, I don't know how; just go with it -ed) Ken. "If that deviled egg thinks he can fool me with a new haircut and some drab clothes, then his brains are fried. There's no way I'll serve his type in here!" Digitamamon would have continued, but something red and clawed grabbed his leg, flipped him over, and held him upside down. 

"And just what type would that be" Charmeleon asked, small licks of flame coming out of his mouth. 

==Dark Ocean 

"It's been a long battle" Demon said to no one in particular. "And how many digimon have I sent to their demise? Or have wandered off like that fool Myotismon?" 

Arukenimon walked up, Sneasel walking behind her. "Demon, Larvitar has completed his preparations and is ready to be sent. We await your orders." 

"Good" Demon replied. "Have Larvitar sent to these co-ordinates" Demon handed a small crystal to Arukenimon. "Sneasel, are you ready? I have had an...inspiration." Sneasel bowed, waiting. "Once Larvitar is replaced, I want you to go to the village that Shogun Geckomon rules. I will have your orders sent by one of my agents." 

Arukenimon looked at the crystal, divining the data within. "This will take Larvitar close to the last area Baihumon was spotted in. He may sense the portal forming." 

"Yes. That is why we will send a digimon to the pokemon world at the same time. The noise from that should cover up any portals that appear in the Digital World. Send....send Marine Devimon, he's been champing at the bit recently. That overgrown housecat has taken an interest in that world, after all. With luck, he'll be so busy watching his precious digidestined fight that we can slip our package in undetected." 

"Understood. We can begin in a few hours." 

==Digital World 

"So, egg-boy, what'll it be? Sunny side up, or just fried?" Charmeleon gave the digimon a threatening shake. 

"Ch...Charmeleon" Ken breathed. "Then..." 

"KEN" Ryo roared, grabbing Ken in a bear hug. "God, man, it's been years!" 

Kyle and June walked in. "Um, guys," June said, "this is Ryo...Ryo, everyone..." 

"Maybe we should take this outside" Kyle suggested. 

Outside, everyone sat down. Ken seemed a bit edgy now, looking nervously at Ryo. "Ken" Yolei asked quietly, "are you OK?" 

"Yeah, what's up" Ryo asked. "You been OK? Everyone gets all weird when you're mentioned." He totally missed the recurrence of the 'oh god, how do we explain THIS' look, which had managed to infect Davis and Yolei too. 

Ken said nothing for a second. Then, with a sob, he stood up and ran off. "Ken, wait!" Ryo got up and ran after him, Davis following close behind him. 

"That could have gone better" Veemon said. He flinched a second later under Elecmon and Growlithe's combined glares. 

"Someone want to tell me what's going on here" Charmeleon demanded, getting a bit angry. Everyone else looked at each other uneasily. 

"I'll do it" Wormmon said. "It all started... 

===Some distance off. 

"...just after Sam died" Ken said. 

"Oh god" was Ryo's only response. Davis listened too; Outside of Yolei, Ken had managed to avoid the other digidestined after Chimeramon was defeated. 

"Just after the funeral, I...received an email that told me about the digital world, where I could get away from the pain. I went there, and I was told that if I could rule it, I would be happy....I..." Ken began shaking uncontrollably. "I was...evil. Everything I had done, you, Charmeleon, Milleniumon...it was taken from me..." Ken looked at Ryo, eye to eye. "Well, come on. Aren't you supposed to hate me too?" 

"Hate you" Ryo gasped, stunned. 

"Ken, we don't hate you" Davis said. "None of us!" 

"Why not" Ken snapped. "How many times have I tried to destroy you. How many digimon did I send to their deaths to help me rule the digital world, or try to stop you, or threaten to kill you...well?" 

"WILL YOU SHUT UP" Davis yelled, slapping Ken. "OK," he said, calming down a bit, "you made a few bad choices. But you're past that now, we forgive you already, and we really need your help! Diaboromon, you remember him? He showed up in the Pokemon World not too long ago. These weird digimon with shiny black insides are appearing, someone's sending them against us, and to top it off, my sister's dating someone from another world! I don't know about you but I could use a little help here!" 

Ryo blinked. "Yeah, what he said..." The trainer cleared his mind, and followed up what Davis had said. "Look, you're pretty miserable right now, so I doubt you're evil, none of the other digidestined are trying to thwart your evil plans right now, so I don't think they hate you...look, let's go back to the others and hash this out properly, alright?" Ken nodded. 

"Um...sorry about hitting you" Davis said. 

"Forget it" Ryo said. "Hey, sometimes, the direct approach works. What was your name?" 

"Davis Motomiya, leader of the digidestined. Listen, since you two are new, I'll be glad to show you the ropes." Davis headed back to the others. 

"Leader" Ryo asked Ken quietly. 

"I thought TK was the leader, if anyone" Ken replied, equally baffled. 

Back at the group, everyone calmed down and talked for a few hours. Ryo told them about his adventure with Ken in the Digital World, culminating in the battle against Milleniumon, and their return to their own dimensions. As they talked, Hawkmon, Eevee, and Growlithe had taken turns playing with Magby. "Who is the little guy" Yolei asked. 

"Oh, that's Magby" Ryo said. "He's a baby pokemon, I found him a few weeks before I ran into Kyle here." 

"Baby pokemon" Yolei asked, curious. 

"Some pokemon have what's called a 'pre-evolved form" Kyle answered. "Baby pokemon are pokemon that appear just after they hatch out of an egg. 

"They don't battle with this type of pokemon, do they" Ken asked, horrified. 

"Technically, there's no law against using baby pokemon in a battle, but a lot of trainers look down on it. Heaven help the poor fool that does and gets caught" Kyle replied. "I think one Officer Jenny volunteered to string one idiot up after he tried to force a Pichu to fight a Blastoise." Kyle chucked a bit, remembering the story. "But that was after the Blastoise turned on the guy." 

==Pokemon World 

Mewtwo looked over Olivine City, relaxing a bit. The psychic pokemon found an odd sense of relief near large bodies of water; usually, he attributed this to some memory from Mew's DNA that was used in his creation. He was not actually within the city. Even his impressive psychic powers could not conceal him forever in the city itself. But here, in a rarely traveled area... 

"Nice day" Byron said, walking up behind Mewtwo. 

"Baihumon" Mewtwo said, using the guardian's true name. "What brings you here?" 

"Oh, just wandering. I think I've gained a bit of an attachment to this world; sometimes, I see here, and I wonder if the other Earth would fare as well if digimon began appearing there." 

"It is not all peace" Mewtwo replied. "I have had my share of battles here, many that would tear the other Earth apart. As always, the evil humans are capable of can destroy even the most serene place." Mewtwo looked up, sensing a familiar presence. "And yet, there is hope" he said, smiling a bit. "Why do we keep crossing paths" he wondered. 

"Kids like that are known for that sort of thing" Byron replied. "We four guardians were beaten by the Dark Masters, and it was children that saved us. And are at it again. I think our worlds are not so different..." 

They both sensed it. A wrongness in the air, something dark was approaching, but not from any physical location. Then Mewtwo dropped to his knees, holding his head. "What...what is this?" 

"They wouldn't" the avatar said. Then, growling, he glowed fiercely, and resumed his true shape. "The Dark Ocean has managed to open a portal here" the giant tiger growled. "I must get the digidestined here!" 

Mewtwo stood up. "I will hold this monster at bay until you return." 

"Be careful. This will be no mere pokemon that you face. It is Marine Devimon, an Ultimate digimon that is at his best in the water." 

Mewtwo smiled. "I am no mere pokemon. We'd best hurry." Mewtwo glowed a bright blue, levitated off the ground, and headed for the portal. Baihumon nodded, glowed, and warped himself to the Digital World. 

==Digital World. 

"Well, come on" Davis said. "Let's get the rest of the digidestined here and make it official." 

"Make what official" Ken asked. 

"You and Ryo are members of the team now! We need a party, don't we?" Davis would have continued, but was interrupted by a giant tiger appearing in the middle of the group. 

"You" Ryo said, taken aback. "You're the one that sent me here four years ago!" 

"I remember you too" Ken said. 

"Sorry to interrupt" Baihumon said, "but there's trouble in the Pokemon World. Marine Devimon has appeared near Olivine City and is attacking! You get there, I'll find Cody, Kari, TK, and any of the other digidestined I come across. MOVE!" 

==Olivine City 

The three trainers (OK, one breeder, an ex-gym leader, and a pokemon trainer -ed) sat by the beach, resting. "This is the life" the redheaded girl said. "A nice seaside city with lots of water pokemon." 

"I still say we should have gone to the gym first." 

The girl sighed, exasperated. "You saw the note on the door! The gym's closed until tomorrow! Honestly, I don't know how you've made it this far." 

"By not quitting or taking no for an answer" the boy replied, turning to the older, darker skinned boy. "Right?" 

"Forget it," the girl said, "the only thing he's going to be seeing is bikinis for a while." 

Actually, the older boy was looking at something far off. The other two with him noticed it too, a small blue speck flying around a larger, blacker speck. All of a sudden, the blue speck started to grow larger. "Guys, we'd better move" he said, getting up. 

"Why, what's-" the younger trainer was cut off as the blue 'speck' suddenly flew between them, crashing into the seawall. With a gasp, he recognized the being that had nearly hit them. "Mewtwo! What happened?" 

Mewtwo lifted himself up. "A..Ash. You must leave this place." 

"LOOK" Brock yelled, pointing. The others looked, and saw a big black monster coming towards them. 

"Everyone," Ash called to the pokemon they had brought, "get back here now!" Mewtwo lifted a hand, and the pokemon were surrounded by a blue aura, and were lifted back to their trainers. "Thanks. Now, how do we stop that thing." Ash checked his pokedex. "No pokemon detected?" 

"It is not a pokemon. Leave, it is too powerful for you to face!" 

"But-" Ash never got beyond that, as a large white angel with red highlights flew over the group, and attacked Marine Devimon. 

"Pyroangemon" Mewtwo said. "Then they are here." As he spoke, the digidestined Baihumon was able to find in the Digital World ran to the edge of the seawall. 

"Mewtwo" Kyle said. "What...never mind, I see it." 

"What is it" Yolei asked. 

"My worst nightmare, take two" Ryo said. "We've got to stop that thing now." Everyone nodded, and held out their digivices. 

"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!" 

"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!" 

"Veemon, digivolve to...ExVeemon!" 

"Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquillamon!" 

"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!" Stingmon looked down at Charmeleon. "Sure you're not too rusty" he asked. 

Charmeleon grinned. "Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!" 

"He's an Ultimate" Kyle said. "No point waiting around!" 

"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!" 

While the others were digivolving, Pyroangemon faced Marine Devimon, stalling him. "I don't know how you got here, but you're gonna wish you'd stayed home!" 

"Make me" Marine Devimon replied, ducking a sword swing, and countering with a slap of one of his tentacles. "You digivolved from a fire type, so I'm guessing you're still weak against water attacks. DARK WATER!" A blast of sickly bluish-black water hit the angel, who only barely managed to deflect it with his shield. 

-He's right- Pyroangemon though. -But how did he know?- "Sacred Fire!" Pyroangemon's fire attack clawed at Marine Devimon, but the digimon ducked under the water, taking only a few minor burns. The angel followed up with an Atom Force attack, but the digimon remained under the water, which dissipated much of the attack. "I could use some help here" he called back. At that point, a whirlpool engulfed him. As Marine Devimon had guessed, the water attack quickly drained Pyroangemon's strength, reverting him to Eevee in seconds. 

"Hang on" Aquillamon yelled, flying in and catching the falling pokemon. "We'll take over now." 

"Sure" Eevee weakly replied. "Just when I had him..." Eevee tried to get up. "He knows about pokemon types...Gotta warn the new guy." 

"Already on it" Charizard said, flying by. He and Stingmon took over where Eevee had left off. Charizard hung back, shooting lances of flame at Marine Devimon, and allowing Stingmon to get close. 

"You fools" Marine Devimon shouted. "I am the mightiest of Ultimate water digimon! What hope do three champions have against me?" 

"Make that four! V-Laser!" Exveemon's energy bolt struck the attacking digimon square in the face. Roaring, Marine Devimon swung at Exveemon, totally ignoring the other digimon. 

"Hey" A voice said behind Marine Devimon, "don't forget us! CELESTIAL EDICT!" Komainumon, who had managed to sneak behind the attacker, launched his most powerful attack. Marine Devimon staggered, barely hanging onto consciousness. -Still there- Komainumon wondered, surprised by the digimon's endurance. -That should have finished him!- 

"I...I'm not done yet...I have one more hand to play..." Marine Devimon began glowing, and the space around him seemed to ripple. 

"What's happening" Davis yelled, watching from the shore. 

==Dark Ocean 

"That idiot!" 

"What is it, Arukenimon" Demon asked. 

"Marine Devimon is trying to open another portal; that fool must have panicked and is trying to get help." 

"Really? Let's watch and see what happens." 

==Pokemon World 

"Trouble" Yolei called. "All the portals here are down; whatever that oversized octopus is doing must be blocking all the Digiport! TK and the others can't get to us!" 

"LOOK" June yelled. The force of the space warp pushed all the digimon away from Marine Devimon. Inside the rift, he seemed to shift, warp. With a loud 'BOOM' (yes, the all caps type of 'boom' -ed) the rift closed, leaving a different digimon. 

Kyle checked the new digimon with his D-3. "There's nothing on this thing...I can't even get a good reading on its power level." 

"It must be stuck between digivolutions" Ken said. "It must have tried to digivolve to its mega level, but botched it somewhere. Sort of a hybrid digimon." 

The digimon roared in pain, its body torn between two incompatible forms. The energy within it was surging and falling at the same time, driving the monster insane. It backhanded Komainumon, and swept the other champion level digimon away with a blast of pure power. 

"It's stronger than an Ultimate now" Kyle said. 

Ryo looked at the monster, then at Ken. "Hey, Ken. Let's show these guys what we can do, alright?" Ken blinked not sure what Ryo was talking about. "Oh, come on, Ken, you couldn't have forgotten that could you? After Milleniumon, this guy should be a pushover." 

"What are you talking about" Davis asked confused. Then, as he saw Ken smile, evidently remembering what Ryo was talking about, he caught on. "You mean, you can..." He watched as Ken and Ryo held out their digivices, calling their respective digimon to digivolve! 

"Bout time" Charizard yelled. "Lets link up and put the hurt on this creep!" 

"Right" Stingmon called back, feeling the power surge, as he remembered it. 

"Stingmon...Charizard...DNA Digivolve to...DINO BEEMON!" The new digimon was all red and black, massively over-muscled forearms ending in bone white claws, reddish-black tail with a bright blue and white flame at the tip. Dino Beemon roared, exulting in the power and daring the insane Virus digimon to attack. 

ED: 'Boku no Best Friend' (Pokemon ED) 

Next Episode: 

Dino Beemon and Komainumon join forces to attack the monster that was formerly Marine Devimon. But, can Ken and Ryo control the berserk power of their own DNA digimon? Next on Digimon: Digicross:   
'Dino Beemon's Kaiser Blade' 


	16. Dino Beemon's Kaiser Blade

Digicross Episode 15   
'Dino Beemon's Kaiser Blade' 

OP: Digicross OP theme, created by Caloque, the Chiche Queen 

"Stingmon...Charizard...DNA Digivolve to...DINO BEEMON!" The digidestined watched stunned as another pokemon/digimon fusion appeared, challenging the monster attacking Komainumon. 

"YEAH" Ryo yelled. "Just like four years ago! I knew you still had it, Ken!" 

"What is that thing" Cody breathed, more than a little scared by the ferocity this now monster showed. 

Baihumon, back in his human guise, walked up and answered him. "Dino Beemon, Ultimate level DNA digivolved digimon. Virus type, if I recall, special attacks include Irritant Buzz and Kaiser Blade." 

Komainumon, still fighting, had only seen a bit of the transformation. Blocking another strike from the mutated Marine Devimon, he ducked under the creature, and tossed it to Dino Beemon. "All yours," he called. Dino Beemon growled loudly, flexing his muscles. He grabbed the mutant digimon, and slammed him onto the water, smashing it hard against the floor of the ocean. "Ouch," Komainumon winced. 

"Rrrr...IRRITANT BUZZ" Dino Beemon's wings started flapping at an incredible rate; the shockwaves pummeled Marine Devimon, but also managed to hit Komainumon as well. Dino Beemon didn't notice, so intent was he on his foe. 

"Hey! Watch it, will you" Ryo called. "I don't get it, he didn't act this way against Milleniumon." 

"I think he did" Ken said quietly. "When we fought Milleniumon, we were fighting him alone; this is the first time Dino Beemon's fought alongside something else." 

"Who is the Milleniumon guy, anyway" Davis asked. 

"Later" Ryo said. "Dino Beemon, get it together! You're supposed to be fighting WITH Komainumon, not against him!" 

Dino Beemon growled, then set his eyes on Marine Devimon. Clenching his fists, Dino Beemon roared again, as a pair of sword blades appeared out of the back of his wrists. Leaping at the mutated digimon, he shouted "Kaiser Blade" and slashed downwards, in an 'X' pattern. 

"Woah! He totally Sandrocked the guy" Davis said. The earthborn digidestined edged away from him, while Kyle and Ryo blinked, not getting the reference. "What" Davis scowled. In the ocean, Marine Devimon trembled, and disintegrated. The wave of power that was released knocked both DNA digimon back. 

"I'm glad that's over" Komainumon said, then ducked a wild swing from Dino Beemon. "Hey" he yelled, parrying another slash from the Kaiser Blades, "I'm on your side!" 

"What is with him" June demanded. "Why's he still attacking?" 

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out" Ryo replied. "Go, Fearow!" Ryo pulled out a pokeball, and summoned his Fearow. He climbed on, and looked surprised as Ken got on with him. 

"It's going to take both of us to calm him down" Ken said. Ryo nodded, and ordered Fearow to fly. Crying aloud, Fearow flew quickly to where the two digimon were fighting. "Stop it" Ken yelled as they closed. Dino Beemon stopped, staring at the two digidestined. Then he nodded, seeming to slump a bit, and trudged back to the beach. 

As he approached, Dino Beemon glowed brightly, and split into two monsters, appearing on the shore just in front of the digidestined. Ken ran over when Fearow landed and picked up Leafmon. Beside the infant digimon was a small red pokemon, looking a bit like Charmeleon but lacking the crest on his head and having shorter claws. 

"Charmander, you OK" Ryo asked. 

Charmander nodded. "Worn out, just like last time." Komainumon got to the beach, and separated into his two forms as well. Kyle and June ran over to pick up their respective monsters. 

Completely forgotten, Ash, Brock and Misty just watched everything happen. Recovering himself a bit, Ash got up and walked over to Kyle and June. "Hey," he said to the two, "Aren't you two the ones who were fighting that weird monster at Mount Moon a while back?" 

"Umm...yeah..." June said a bit hesitantly. Kyle was distracted, watching Misty ear-drag Brock away from Yolei. 

"Can you teach my Pikachu to do that? What you just did?" 

"..."   


==Dark Ocean. 

Demon watched Marine Devimon's fate in a crystal ball. "So," he mused, "he did come from there after all. That makes this all the more convenient." 

Arukenimon, who had been listening, looked at Demon. "You recognize that...thing? It looked so repulsive." 

Demon smiled to himself. "Yes. I sent a servant to the digital world once who was defeated by that fused monster. When Sneasel was first brought to me, I had my suspicions that this was the world Dino Beemon came from. Now that I know..." 

"Shall I prepare another invasion" Arukenimon asked. 

"Not yet. As you saw, they could barely control that monster; with the right manipulation, that could be turned to our advantage. Was our primary goal successful?" 

"Yes. Sneasel is on the way to ShogunGeckomon's village, and Larvitar is inside Baihumon's territory. As you planned." 

"Excellent." 

==Digital World 

The small pokemon got up, flexing the muscles in his small body. Looking around, he did not recognize where he had appeared. 

:Larvitar: the telepathic voice came, :listen to me: 

:I hear...master: Larvitar replied, disliking taking orders. 

Back in his lair, Demon allowed a small chuckle. :You may feel weak now, but under my guidance, you will be the strongest, both in this world and the Pokemon World. After myself, of course.: In Larvitar's mind, an image appeared. :Burn this map into your mind. It lists the locations of eight nodes of power, what the digimon call 'Destiny Stones'. Drain a little from each, and you will gain strength.: 

:Why not just drain one stone completely? Why must I sneak around like a common Meowth?: 

:Calm yourself: Demon's voice stabbed into Larvitar's mind. :To drain the stones completely would destroy the world, and you with it. Plus it would draw the attention of the other three guardians. Into your DNA I have coded the ability to digivolve, but you must gather the energy of all the stones to do so. Do this, and you will be rewarded with power.: 

Larvitar nodded. :I go.: 

==Pokemon World, Olivine Pokemon Center. 

After the fight, the digimon had been checked into the local pokemon center, and the digidestined, as well as Ash, Misty, and Brock, had checked in to rest. Mewtwo and Baihumon had to leave, saying something about checking an unusual portal opening in the digital world, but they would be back as soon as possible. Cody had caught up with the group, having been stuck when the portals to the pokemon world were jammed. 

"OK" Davis said, "now that we're all here, would someone please tell me who this 'Milleniumon' character is?" 

Ryo answered. "Well, it started about four years ago, around Mahogany Town." 

"Four years ago..." Kyle wondered. "Hey, wasn't there some kind of 'mad pokemon' outbreak?" 

Brock piped in. "I remember reading about that! Apparently, one day, a bunch of the pokemon that were local to the area just went nuts and started attacking everyone. Then it just stopped. No one really knew what happened." 

"Well, I did. It's how I first came to the Digital World." 

==4 years ago, Mahogany Town. 

"NO," the specter roared, watching the small red pokemon blast away with its fire attacks. "How could I have been beaten again by one so small?" 

"Your bad luck" Ryo replied, watching his pokemon finish off the...thing. It was by no stretch a pokemon, that much was apparent. Around him, the other pokemon that were controlled slumped to the ground, those curious black metal gears appearing out of them. As he watched, the specter seemed to disintegrate, small bits of it breaking off into small square-shaped bits. The opponent done, Charmeleon glowed, the devolved to Charmander! 

"You turned back" Ryo breathed, looking at his pokemon. His gaze shifted to the small teardrop shaped device in his hand. White with midnight-blue grips on the side, the device, which had made a great deal of noise when his pokemon evolved, was now silent. "Did this thing trigger your evolution? Maybe it's some kind of high-tech elemental stone." 

In front of him, in the spot the specter had fallen, a field of energy appeared, and a figure stepped through. To Ryo, it looked like an albino Arcanine, though it had some sort of mask and foreleg guards on it. "That's actually not too far from the truth, Ryo" Baihumon said. "That monster you battled was called Devimon, a digimon." 

== 

"DEVIMON" the digidestined yelled, startling Ken and Ryo. 

Ryo nodded. "Yeah. Baihumon explained it to me. When he was beaten by Angemon, the energy opened a small hole between the worlds; a part of Devimon's consciousness was able to escape though it to this world." 

Cody looked at Baihumon. "You mean Agnomen's responsible for bringing Devimon to the pokemon world?" 

June shook her head. "It must have been a million to one chance" she replied. "There was no way he could have known." 

"She's right" Ryo said. "And in a way, if Devimon hadn't come here, I never would have run into you guys. Anyway..." 

== 

Ryo had met Ken some days after entering the digital world. The two had become fast friends, and had shared stories of their worlds. Ken had been particularly interested in stories of the Pokemon World, about how any kid could go on a pokemon adventure, become their own person and not live in other people's shadows...Wormmon had befriended Charmander, who had begun speaking English soon after Ryo's entry to the digital world. Baihumon had told them that there was an entity trying to take over the Digital World, and could become a menace to another team of digidestined that were in a different part of the digital world at the same time. 

"It's pretty delicate" the giant tiger explained to the two humans. "They've just taken care of Etemon, but the digidestined are all scattered to the four winds, which make them easy prey. What's worse, only one of them has managed to reach Ultimate level, and he just got himself shot back to earth. The others...haven't even passed the Champion level. You two are our only chance. Whoever's calling the shots for these guys has created a digimon called Milleniumon, a mega-level digimon." 

"A...mega" Ken breathed, clutching Wormmon. "How are we supposed to defeat that?" 

"Same way we beat everything" Ryo said cockily. "Teamwork." 

"More true than you know" Baihumon said. "Follow your instincts and trust each other. Don't worry, you are more than able to handle it." 

Several weeks passed, and the pair managed to defeat the hordes of digimon sent by their foe. Wormmon was able to digivolve to Stingmon, and Charmander was able to digivolve all the way to Charizard, equaling a Champion level digimon. Then... 

Ken and Ryo weren't expecting it. They had just managed to defeat an ultimate digimon by the barest of margins when Milleniumon attacked. The monsters fought bravely, but were easily beaten back. 

"This is nuts!" Ryo said. "He's just too powerful." 

"Stingmon" Ken yelled. You have to digivolve again!" 

Ken's partner looked back. "It's no good" Stingmon said, wincing from the pain of his injuries. "Even if I did manage to digivolve, he's a fully powered mega. I'm sorry Ken." 

"Don't talk like that" Charizard snapped. "I haven't given up yet, I don't care how powerful that overgrown Magikarp is!" 

"He's right" Ken yelled. "Ryo, we have to defeat him! You promised...you promised to show me your home sometime!" 

"Yeah. You hear that, you overgrown Grimer wannabe? We're taking you down!" 

"Stingmon...Charizard...DNA Digivolve to...DINO BEEMON!" The fusion digimon charged at Milleniumon, Kaiser Blades extended and on fire. Milleniumon howled in pain, and exploded. 

"Ryo, get down!" Ken knocked his friend down as a swarm of projectiles, released at the moment Milleniumon died, shot at the pair. Ryo was not hit, but Ken took a hit right in the back of his neck! Howling in pain, Ken collapsed, feeling as if something was eating his mind as he lost consciousness. 

Ken came to about a week later. Ryo, Wormmon, and Charmander were watching him, concerned. "How...how long was I...?" 

"'Bout a week" Ryo said. I'm glad you came to, you had us all worried." 

The door to the tent they were resting in opened, and Baihumon stuck his head in. "Ah, you are awake. It is good." The humans and monsters came outside, wondering what the tiger wanted. 

Outside, Baihumon seemed as if he was not sure what he wanted to say. "You have beaten Milleniumon, and saved the digidestined. But events have changed now. I am sorry, but it is time for you to go home." 

"H...home?" 

"Yes. The one who sent Milleniumon has unleashed four more mega digimon, and they are too powerful for you to face. What's worse, if you stay here, Ryo, your homeworld will be discovered." 

"Well, I'll fight 'em off too!" 

"Ryo" Ken said, still unsteady. "You...you have to." 

"Ken?!" 

"He's right" Wormmon said sadly. "Do you want another Milleniumon in your world?" Ryo looked down, not trusting himself to speak. 

"It may be," Baihumon said, "that the door will open again. I cannot promise anything, but one can always hope." 

=== 

"And that was it" Ryo said. "After that, I returned to my world, found that maybe a day had passed since I left. SO, I went on with becoming a pokemon trainer, entered and aced the singles tournament, and kept listening. Then you two" he pointed to Kyle and June, "show up, and I just knew that there was a way to the digital world again." 

"All that fighting in the digital world must have paid off" Kyle said. "I remember reading about you in the papers. I always wondered how you got to be so good." 

"Yeah. It was weird, in a way. All that time in the digital world equaled a day here." 

"Tai told me about that" Davis said. "They were there for a month and a half or something, and it was only a few days back in our world." 

"One thing I don't get" Yolei asked. "Izzy was explaining the digimon levels to me once, and showed me a rough guess of the power levels." Everyone nodded, following her so far. "So how could an ultimate digimon like Dino Beemon beat a Mega digimon like Milleniumon? Izzy said that, one on one, a mega will win every time." 

Ryo opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. He looked at Ken, who also started to answer, then stopped as well. 

"I...I don't know" Ken finally said. "At the time, we weren't questioning it...but..." Confused now, he trailed off. 

It was then that Baihumon, in his human guise of Byron, reappeared. "A masterful summary" he said to Ryo, "and a most insightful question, young lady" he said to Yolei. "As it is, I think I can answer it. To be blunt, I was used. Played for a sap." 

"Once we guardians were sealed away, the evil digimon began their takeover of the Digital World. While trapped, I began searching for a way of release. You must understand, Piedmon had destroyed our lab where we were creating the partner digimon, we were powerless to stop them, had to watch as our human avatars were slain or enfeebled...I was desperate." 

"Then, my searching turned up the possibility of summoning help from other worlds. And one of those worlds was your world, Kyle and Ryo. I saw...I saw a world of peace, where creatures much like the digimon of my world lived in harmony. My first thought was to simply bring the guardians through, regroup, and reenter the digital world though a new portal. But after seeing this place, I paused and looked too long. It was in that instant that Devimon was able to pass through, sending the last spark of his being to the pokemon world. It is in fact my fault that the pokemon world was dragged into this." 

"After the digidestined were sent back, I leaned that Milleniumon was only a decoy. He could have succeeded in his task if unopposed, but his main goal was to infect one or more children with Dark Spores." 

"That shot you took to the back of your neck" Ryo said to Ken. "Was that...?" 

"Yes. Compounding it was our lunacy in shutting off the digital world to the children. We did not know anything was amiss until Diaboromon appeared in the Human world's Internet." 

"So that's why the portals were opened again" Davis said. 

"Yes, but they were shut again, once the Digimon Emperor started moving. The control spires, in addition to stopping digivolution, weakened our powers." Ken seemed to shrink at that. "Haven't you been listening" Byron asked the boy. "In all likelihood, that dark spore you were hit with probably helped make you into the Emperor. Didn't Mewtwo say there was something inside you, something amplifying your darker tendencies?" Ken nodded. "In a way, it's a good thing you did stop him. Imagine if there were eight Digimon Emperors instead of one! Or if Ryo had been hit instead of Ken!" 

Yolei shook off a sudden image of Davis as the Digimon Emperor. "So someone else was behind Apocalymon and the Dark Masters then" she asked incredulously. 

Byron nodded. "Yes. And you are already familiar with it. It is the Dark Ocean." 

"That weird place they dragged Kari off to" Davis yelped. 

"Yes. You'd best keep an eye on her. And Ken as well." Ken looked up, surprised. "The Dark Spore you carry may be inert now, but they may wish to retrieve it. As long as you stick together, you should be fine." 

"What about Kari" Cody asked. 

"We'll tell her when we get back" Davis said. "And anyway" he added slyly, "I think a little knowledge will keep her safe." Chuckling, Davis walked over to one of the windows and asked for a drink. 

"A little..." Cody asked, not getting it. 

"Subtle Davis," June sighed, "REAL subtle." 

At a nearby table, Ash, Misty, and Brock listened. "Do you believe any of that" Misty asked when Baihumon finished speaking. 

"I don't know what to believe" Ash said. "Other dimensions, pokemon that can join and become one big pokemon, it's like something out of a movie, right Brock?" 

"Umm...who is that guy," June asked, noticing Brock was staring. 

"I think....Hey" Kyle said, standing up, "have you ever been to the Kanto region?" 

Ash answered. "Yeah, I'm from there. I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. This is Misty" indicating the redhead, "and this is Brock" Ash trailed off, noticing, and recognizing, the look on Brock's face. 

"Ah" Kyle looked at Brock. "She's spoken for." Brock seemed to collapse. 

"What was that all about" June demanded. 

"Oh. That was Brock, the Pewter City Gym leader." Ryo palmed his face, recognizing the name. "He's made passes at every pretty girl from Pewter City to, well, here. There's an informal warning about him sent to every police station that has an Officer Jenny on the staff." He noticed Yolei's slightly worried look. "No worries, he just makes a complete goof out of himself, but that's it." 

"DAAVISSS" Veemon came running in, tail scorched. "Make him stop!" Behind Veemon, Magby came running in, chasing the digimon around. As Magby ran, small embers fell out of his mouth, leaving scorch marks on the floor. 

Repressing a groan, Ryo got up. "Magby. Come here!" Magby stopped chasing Veemon, and walked over to Ryo. "Magby, how many times to I have to tell you? You can't play 'Pass the Ember' with non-fire types!" A second later, A yellow ball rolled in, a small, egg shaped pokemon on top of it. 

"Togepi! Get off of that Sandshrew!" Misty ran over and collected the pokemon. Armadillomon unrolled himself, a bit dizzy. Oh I'm so sorry. Is your Sandshrew hurt?" 

"His name's Armadillomon," Cody said, walking over. "You OK?" 

"It'd be fun, he said..." Armadillomon said, eyes spinning, before passing out. 

Nurse Joy walked out, Growlithe, Elecmon, Wormmon, and Charmander walking behind her. Surveying the scene, she said "Umm...your pokemon are ready..." 

==Digital World 

Gatomon walked towards the village that ShogunGeckomon was watching over. She hadn't been to the town in some time, but the message she had received was urgent. There was no identification, just a note that had been given to her by a passing digimon who said he'd been given it from another passing digimon, who was looking for Gatomon. 

"I should have waited for Kari" she said to herself. Sensing a presence, she spun around and faced a black, catlike creature, about her size, and sneering evilly. 

"And spoil this wonderful fight" Sneasel asked, appearing behind her. "I wouldn't dream of it." Sneasel jumped, claws extending, small crystals of ice forming and melting off, leaving a light train of steam as they swept through the air. 

Though Gatomon was not at full power, her agility was still second to none, and she dodged the claw swipes. "Who are you?" 

"Sneasel. Servant of the Dark Ocean, and bane of this world! FURY CUTTER!" 

"Th...that move..." Even Gatomon couldn't dodge the hail of claw swipes, and was quickly rendered unconscious. 

As Gatomon fell, Sneasel looked at the digimon. "Weak, just like all the others. Relying on a human for their power." Picking up the digimon, Sneasel carried her captive towards the edge of the town, where she had a small hiding place. "Phase one is completed" she said to the air. 

:Excellent: Demon's voice echoed in her mind. :And now...: In the distance, Sneasel heard a series of small explosions. She now knew that all the digital portals within a day's travel were now destroyed. 

==Human World 

"Gatomon" Kari said, looking up. 

"Kari" Tai asked his sister. "What is it?" 

"Something's wrong...I know it." 

The phone rang. Tai answered it. Kari watched as her brother's shoulders stiffened, and then slowly hung the phone up. "That was Izzy" he said, confused. "Apparently a whole bunch of portals in the digital world were just blown up." 

"We have to go there" Kari said, getting up. "We have to find Gatomon, I'm sure she's in trouble." 

"Kari" Tai said, "it's Sunday night, we have to be in school tomorrow. First thing after school, we'll meet at Izzy's place and go to the digital world, alright?" Tai's face softened a bit. "Hey, Gatomon's tough, she'll be just fine." 

Next Episode:   
In the samurai village, tragedy strikes and Gatomon is blamed for it. The digidestined must race to clear her name, but dark forces are aligning against them. A sad part of Gatomon's life is revealed and secrets are uncovered. Next, on Digimon: Digicross Episode 16-   
-'Kidnap part 1: Trial" 


	17. Kidnap part 1: Trial

Digimon: Digicross episode 16   
'Kidnap part 1: Trial' 

==Tuesday afternoon, Human World 

All day, Kari had been fighting an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew, without knowing how, that Gatomon was in some sort of trouble, but she had no way of checking until school was out for the day. She considered asking Kyle and Ryo to check on her, but she had no idea where her partner was. Gatomon had told her that she had to check something out in the eastern part of the digital world, but that was a day before Marine Devimon attacked part of Kyle and Ryo's home world. 

At least school is out now, she thought to herself. The 'second wave' of digidestined (as Davis liked to call the group) had agreed to meet at TK's home. It was more convenient, as Cody and Yolei lived in the same building. Pity it was near the top of the apartment building. 

As she exited the elevator, she nearly bumped into TK's mom. "Oh, hello Kari" she said. "TK told me you were coming over. Just knock and he should let you in." Kari thanked her, and went to the door. She went to knock, but found the door was slightly ajar. Curious, she walked in. 

TK's home was a fairly small apartment; enough room for him, his mother, a small kitchen and dining area, and still had space for a small sofa, easy chair, and a TV. As she entered, she heard TK talking to someone, wait, two someones. After a second, she recognized the voices. Davis she could understand, but what was Izzy doing here? 

"It is weird" TK said, "but there's no point getting worried about it until we know what caused it." 

"But all those portals going down at once can't be a coincidence" Izzy replied. "I know the pattern is irregular, but it covers too wide an area. I emailed Kyle, and he and Ryo are going to set up a portal we can use; Andromon's going to give them a hand. It'll come out near Shogungeckomon's village, I figured we could use that as a staging area, if needed." 

"Any idea what wrecked all the TVs" Davis asked. 

"Not yet" Izzy answered. "But those portals aren't much more durable than an average TV set. Might have just been an earthquake or storm." 

"Fair enough" TK's voice echoed. Kari, a bit worried, wondered what they were talking about. 

"So," Davis' voice said, "have you told her yet?" 

"I hardly think this is the time" Izzy's voice came back, sounding a bit hurt. Kari leaned closer. Izzy with a girlfriend, she wondered. What will Mimi think? 

"I'm not saying right now, but you shouldn't leave this sort of thing off too long, that's all I'm saying. Hey, what's the worst that can happen?" 

"Davis," Izzy's voice showed long-suffering patience, "do you honestly think that I can just walk up to Kari, tell her that I've had a crush on her for about a year now, and that all will just be well?" 

"Yeah. What could go wrong?" 

"Voice of subtlety" TK wisecracked. A sound got his attention. He walked over to the entry hall, where he saw the door closing. "Did Davis leave it open" he wondered. 

==Digital World, some hours ago 

"Well, that was nice" Shogungeckomon said, stretching after a long nap. "Now I'm rested and ready to carry out my duties here. Retainer, what is the first order of business?" 

A ball-shaped digimon wearing a hood and carrying a sword looked over the day's agenda. "Nothing, sir" he replied. 

"Eh? Nothing, Ninjamon? No taxes?" 

"Paid." 

"Maintenance?" 

"Everything's repaired." 

"My annual musical tribute?" 

"The CDs will be on the shelves next week." 

Shogungeckomon thought for a second. "Well, back to sleep." With that, the Ultimate digimon flopped over and fell asleep. Sighing, Ninjamon bowed and left. 

Outside, the digimon reflected on the past few months. From slave to the emperor to loyal retainer for the head of this village. Not a bad life, he reflected. Though part of him wished for a rematch against Shurimon. Or that red bug...Scizormon?...that he'd heard about. 

"Who's there?" Spinning around, Ninjamon searched for the source of the sound he'd heard. A faint scratch, of claw on wood. He'd lived too long to mistake sounds like that. He ran back into the room he'd just left... 

And saw a shadow of silver...no, white leaving as his master screamed silently, his body de-resolving. "Master!" Ninjamon watched, horrified, as Shogungeckomon's body was completely destroyed. "Sound the alarm" he yelled. "Our Master is destroyed!" Pulling his sword out, Ninjamon chased after the shadow. 

The chase went on for some minutes, Ninjamon being astonished by the agility of his quarry. Then, the assassin dropped into a shadowed alleyway, Ninjamon closing in. "Now I have you....YOU?" Ninjamon couldn't believe what he saw. For it was the face of Gatomon that stared back at him! 

"Me," the dark, husky voice replied. Then her eyes glowed red, and Ninjamon fell. 

==Human World (Now) 

"Kari?" Yolei flinched as Kari started. "Easy! It's just me. What's wrong?" Beside her, Cody looked up at Kari, concern on his face. 

"It...it's nothing" Kari replied. She had slipped out, trying to come to terms with what she had overheard. Izzy...liked her? Her, of all people? 

"Some nothing" Yolei replied, not convinced. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us." Yolei led Kari inside. Cody followed, wondering what had gotten into Kari. 

Inside, everyone got together in the living room. "So, what's the big emergency" Yolei asked. 

"It started yesterday" Izzy said, retelling Yolei and Cody what he had told Davis, TK, and, unwittingly, Kari. "Kyle said he'd contact me once the new portal was set up, and0" a beeping noise came from Izzy's computer. "That's probably him now." Izzy opened up his laptop, accessing his email program. As he did, he wondered what had gotten into Kari; she had been looking at him oddly the whole time, and was unusually silent. He filed it away for later consideration as he read the message. "The portal's ready, but something big's happened in Shogungeckomon's village. He says he'll tell us what's happened when we get there." Everyone pulled out their digivices, and went through the portal. 

==Digital World 

On the other side of the portal, Kyle and Ryo waited for the other digidestined to show up. "Is Ken with you" Ryo asked as Cody came through and the portal closed. 

"Nah, he lives across town" Davis said. "I let him know, and he said he'd catch up with us when he could." 

"So what happened" TK asked. 

Kyle and Ryo looked at each other, uncomfortable with what they were about to say. "Shogungeckomon's been destroyed." Kyle waited for that to sink in. 

"H...HOW" Davis half yelled. "He's an ultimate digimon!" 

"They...have a suspect. Kari, you'd better sit down." Kari did so, feeling a cold spike of fear in the pit of her stomach. "Ninjamon was there, and he was able to identify the digimon who did it." 

"No...not..." 

Ryo nodded. "They have Gatomon now, awaiting trial." 

== 

Gatomon sat in the cell, miserable. After the attack outside of Shogungeckomon's village, she had come to in a small abandoned shack. Staggering out, she had walked into an angry mob of Mushroomon and Floramon who had grabbed her and were intent on ripping the digimon apart until Starmon of all digimon had intervened and taken her here. On the way, he had told Gatomon what had happened. 

"Now, I don't think you'd have done all that" Starmon reassured Gatomon, "but the evidence against ya is a mite bigger than Deputymon's ego. I'm gonna have to keep ya here until we get this investigation all done with." 

Here. In jail. Outside, Gatomon heard the sound of metal on stone. "Executioners already" she wondered out loud. "Is this it?" The door opened, and Gatomon's eyes widened as Scizor, followed by the digidestined, walked in! "Kari!" 

Kari ran to the door to Gatomon's cell. Starmon opened the door and the two embraced each other. "I didn't do it" Gatomon said, trying not to cry. 

"I know" Kari said. "We'll find out who did." 

"Umm, guys" Davis said, looking out the window. "We got company." 

"What's going on" Cody asked. 

"Them folks are mighty riled about Shogungeckomon. I think we got the makings of a lynch mob here." 

"How bad-" June started to ask, then was cut off as a section of the wall of Gatomon's cell was torn off. As the dust cleared, the digidestined saw a small army of digimon, mostly plant type, led by an insectoid figure. The red bug hovered on wings, stinger pointed at Gatomon 

"There" Flybeemon roared. "That is the one! She must pay for her manifold crimes!" 

In the time it took the other digidestined to get ready to battle, Scizor interposed himself between Gatomon and the mob. While the bug pokemon didn't say anything, his expression and stance clearly invited anyone to just try coming near Gatomon. Those digimon with more sense (or weaker spines) backed off, but a few of them rallied around Flybeemon, still calling for Gatomon's life. 

"Out of the way, pal. You have no idea what that...thing has done!" Scizor narrowed his eyes, urge to use this interloper as target practice almost overwhelming. 

"Enough!" Several throwing stars landed between the two monsters. Ninjamon appeared between the two. "That's enough, both of you! Everyone go home NOW!" The crowd dispersed, Flybeemon staring balefully at Gatomon, then flying off. "It is a good thing I stopped you" Ninjamon said to Scizor. "That crowd would have torn you apart." He stopped, and appraised the bug pokemon. Then again, he thought, maybe not. He's got to be an armour digimon, maybe even a mid range Champion level. "What's your name?" 

"Scizor." 

== 

"And that's everything" Ninjamon said, recounting the events of Shogungeckomon's passing. "I'm sorry to have to put you through this, but that is what I saw." 

"But...Gatomon couldn't have done all that" Kari protested. 

"It's a sad fact, but there are still some who believe that she could" Ninjamon replied. "Some digimon haven't forgotten Myotismon yet." Gatomon, sitting beside Kari, stiffened a bit. 

"I got it" Cody said. "It must be a Bakemon that did it! We've seen one change into a likeness of Gatomon before." 

"Sadly, no" Starmon said. "A Bakemon can change its shape, but it can't use the powers of a digimon. And Ninjamon said that he got hit by a hypnosis attack that matches Gatomon's." 

"What's up with that guy leading the mob" Davis asked. "Waspmon?" 

"Flybeemon" Ninjamon said. "He came here recently. He's pretty old, for a champion level digimon. Keeps to himself a lot, lousy at a party. I don't know what he's got against Gatomon." 

"Maybe it was another Gatomon" TK said. "We've seen duplicate digimon before." 

"It is possible" Starmon said, "but Gatomon's appearance here makes her the only suspect we have. If I let her go, we got a whole town blowin' higher than up." 

"Then I'll stay" Gatomon said. "The only way out of this is for me to prove to everyone I didn't do it!" 

"You mean 'we' have to prove it" Ryo said. "Can you hold the trial off till the weekend?" 

"I don't know" Starmon said. "The town's pretty strung up. Ah, sorry," he said to Gatomon. 

"The longer, the better, then" Kyle said. "We'll have a better chance if everyone's calmed down." 

"I don't get it" Cody asked. "Shogungeckomon will come back right?" 

"It's not that easy" Patamon said. "When you're reformatted, you lose almost everything. And there's no guarantee that you'll come back the same digimon, if you don't have a partner." TK put his hand on Patamon's head, remembering the fight against Devimon. 

"But what do we do until then" Yolei asked. "I want to help too, but how do we explain to our parents that were trying to solve a murder mystery?" 

"That's why I want to hold the trial off until the weekend" Ryo said. "Kyle and I can poke around here, try to build a case up." 

"I'm a trainer, not Officer Jenny" Kyle said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Davis groaned, as did the partner digimon there. "Hey, we'll figure it out, no worries." The digidestined got ready to leave. As they did, Ninjamon pulled Kari aside. 

"Kari" he said, "I am experienced with deception to some degree. I told you what I saw. That is not necessarily what happened." 

Kari nodded. "Thanks." 

== 

The week passed slowly for Kari. Anyone who saw her wondered if she had become a basket case, though anyone saying so usually had to deal with either Davis, TK, or the pair, which was enough to knock anyone back. Davis and TK co-operating on something? Unthinkable! Though she didn't say anything, she was grateful for the privacy the two boys were giving her. Keeping up with school was hard enough as she waited for the trial to start. 

== 

It was slow going for Kyle and Ryo too, but they didn't notice it as much; they quickly became so wrapped up. Kyle's first thought was to check the place where Shogungeckomon was killed; "not the most original idea," he admitted, "but it's a start." 

After two days of going over the crime scene, and retracing the path that Ninjamon followed in his pursuit, both trainers were nearly ready to throw up their hands. "I just don't get it" Ryo said, frustrated. "Nothing adds up!" 

"I know" Kyle replied. "Even if Shogungeckomon was asleep, there's no way Gatomon could have nailed him in one shot." 

"What puzzles me is why whoever did this didn't finish Ninjamon. From what he said, he got hypnotized, knocked out. Why would you leave a witness behind?" 

"And stagger out of an abandoned shack the next day like you'd gone five rounds with a Gyarados, yeah. You see anything" Kyle asked Cyberarcanine. 

The armoured pokemon looked up. "Maybe. Come here." The two trainers and their pokemon came over to where Cyberarcanine was. "Look closely. What do you see?" 

Charmeleon squinted. "Looks like a pair of slash marks." 

"A pair, yes. Gatomon's gloves have three claws, not two." 

"It's a start" Kyle said. 

==Wednesday 

Kari knocked on the door to Izzy's home. His father opened the door. "Oh, hello Kari. Did you want to talk to Izzy?" 

"Yes, please" Kari replied, trying not to show any emotion in her voice. 

Tch, she's figured it out, Izzy's father thought to himself, reading Kari's expression. "Well, he's in his room, I'll go get him." 

"It's OK, it's kind of private." Kari trailed off, not sure what else to say. Izzy's father nodded, and showed Kari in. 

Izzy's room door was slightly open, so she let herself in. She saw Izzy at his computer, Tentomon sitting beside him. The two were focussed on the screen, Kari noting that he had some kind of internet chat window open. 

"Two slashes, huh" Izzy mused, unaware that Kari had entered. "Well, it's a start. Tentomon, What does Gatomon's Lightning Paw attack do? Is it a cutting attack?" 

"No" Tentomon replied, "it's more of a swipe than a cut. It's like Scizor's Quick Attack; not as powerful as some Champion level attacks, but it's much faster and more accurate." 

"What's really confusing" Izzy went on, "is that Gatomon doesn't have nearly enough power to be able to take out an Ultimate digimon in one shot. Certainly not quickly enough   
to get out before Ninjamon came back. What do you think Tentomon? Tentomon?" Izzy looked at his partner, who was looking at the door to his room. Turning in his seat, he saw Kari standing there, face unreadable. 

Tentomon looked at Kari, and said "I'll just let myself out" to no one in particular, before flying out of the room. 

There was an awkward silence between the two digidestined. Izzy finally broke it. "Well, I was just talking to Ryo and Kyle, they said that they might be able to find proof that Gatomon didn't do it, and the trial's been set to Friday so we can go there and be there if we're needed and I know you'll want to be there-" 

"Stop" Kari said quietly, cutting Izzy off. Izzy stumbled verbally, and did so. "I heard everything." 

"Oh," Izzy said quietly, misreading Kari's tone. "I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away." 

"No. On Tuesday afternoon. I heard you and TK and Davis talking." Kari walked over to the edge of Izzy's bed and sat down, facing the boy. She saw Izzy realize what she was talking about. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

Izzy stammered, unable to make a coherent reply. Finally, "I was scared." 

"Of me?" 

"Of me" Izzy said. "I thought you might laugh, or I might blow it and scare you away. I...I'm not good at that sort of thing, like Davis." 

Kari blinked. "You thought Davis was...was good at..." Kari couldn't help it, she started laughing. After a few seconds, Izzy realized how silly he sounded, and started laughing too. After a few minutes, they calmed a bit, the laughter having dispelled some of Kari's uneasiness. 

"No...He was good at telling people how he felt" Izzy managed after recovering. "That's what I envied. He could just say what he felt. No holding back or hiding, he just said it." 

"That is one of his nicer points," Kari agreed, "but a bit of tact never hurt." Kari took one of Izzy's hands in hers. "Izzy, you could never scare me away. But I had no idea you felt like that about me. Though it seems like everyone else did." 

"Well, TK did say that, yeah." 

Kari sighed, and stood up. "Maybe," she said, "after this is over, we can talk about this properly?" 

"I'd like that." 

== 

Gatomon stayed in her cell the whole week. It was Wednesday, and it was a few hours yet before the digidestined would be able to arrive. She heard a door open. She looked up, wondering if Kari had snuck out of school early. Her heart fell when she saw Flybeemon enter. 

"So, still waiting? Just to let you know, I'm prosecuting you. And I will be there when they wipe you out." Gatomon stepped back, confused by the hostility this digimon was showing. 

"Why? What did I ever do to you?" 

"You don't remember? How about this name: Kunemon Plateau." Gatomon shrank back, as if the name itself wounded her. "So, you do remember. I was there too; I was just a rookie digimon, but I swore if I survived I'd hunt you down. I knew this whole 'good little digimon' thing was just an act." 

"No...please..." 

"TOO LATE" Flybeemon roared. "I'm gonna get revenge for what you did!" His stinger snapped up, aiming at Gatomon... 

A bubble of air slammed into Flybeemon, knocking him away from the cell, causing the stinger to fly wide, and imbed itself in the wall. Gatomon saw Patamon fly up, ready to fire again. He didn't get the chance, as Eevee, rage apparent in his eyes, tackled Flybeemon and drove the enraged digimon into the wall. Starmon and Scizor ran in, wondering what the noise was. 

Flybeemon got up, got ready to attack, and saw that, even if he did get past Scizor and Starmon, who were blocking him now, his chances against the other two monsters were low; the evolution pokemon looked quite ready to attack again, as did Patamon. "Later" Flybeemon snorted, walking out. 

"You all OK" Starmon asked Patamon and Eevee nodded, still keyed up and wondering if Flybeemon was going to attack again. "I don't know how he got in, but he ain't doing it again!" 

"You OK" Patamon started to ask, then stopped when he saw Gatomon sitting down, weeping quietly. He shared a look with Eevee, who shot a look at Starmon. He pulled out a key, and let Eevee and Patamon into the cell. Scizor and Starmon left the room. 

"Hey, don't worry, he's gone now" Patamon said. 

"It...it's not that" Gatomon sobbed. "Maybe I do deserve this. I've done enough terrible things..." 

"That's a lie and you know it" Eevee snapped. 

"You don't know" Gatomon snapped back. "But I was terrible..." 

==Years ago, digital world 

Myotismon looked over the plateau. "So, this is where the resistance is hiding. My agents have ferreted out most of the rebels, but the leader is in there somewhere. Gatomon, go find them. You know the price of failure." 

Gatomon nodded. "At once, my lord" she said coldly. She headed into the village, looking for the leader of the rebels. "Baromon" she called, "Come out and face me!" The ring on her tail glowed softly, warning her of an attack. Jumping, she just avoided the meteor that slammed into the ground near where she just was. "There you are!" 

"I am here, Gatomon. Where is your master?" Baromon circled Gatomon warily, waiting for an attack. 

"Myotismon doesn't have time to waste on insignificant fools like you. As for me, well, my calendar is wide open." At that point, a net covered Gatomon. At first, she tried to break through the gossamer-like web, but a painful surge of electricity stopped her. 

"Now Baromon" the Kunemon said. "Finish her off before Myotismon gets here!" Growling, Gatomon swiveled around, and hypnotized the rookie digimon. Kunemon fell asleep, and the net fell away. 

"You always hide behind rookie digimon?" 

"Well, your master does it a lot." Baromon shot forward, fireball building in his hand. Gatomon dodged to the side, and as the digimon passed by, Gatomon got behind him, and struck the digimon with a fully powered Lightning Paw. Baromon staggered from the blow, then looked at Gatomon. "I...I see..." he said, then disintegrated. 

Gatomon regarded the Kunemon, still asleep. "You're not worth it" she said, walking back. 

== 

"After that, Myotismon's forces rolled over the place. With Baromon gone, there was no one strong enough to match Myotismon. Those Kunemon he didn't destroy either escaped, or were enslaved." 

"The Dokugumon we fought" Patamon said. "That was...?" 

"Yes. That place was where Myotismon built his castle." 

The three sat silently for a time. Then, Eevee spoke. "You didn't have a choice...?" 

"If I failed, Myotismon would have tortured me. Even when I thought I did as he told me, I was..." Gatomon pulled one of her gloves off, revealing an 'X' shaped scar on the back of her paw. "He told me once that this was a reminder of what happens when I fail, that even his best assassins were still under his power..." Patamon and Eevee winced. 

"But you weren't, even then" Patamon said. "You could have destroyed that Kunemon that attacked you, but you left him alone." 

"And if this Myotismon guy is as bad as everyone says he was" Eevee added, "then you've got nothing to be ashamed of; Digitamamon was one of his agents, and he's come out OK." 

"And if it wasn't for you, we'd never have beaten Myotismon. Or the Dark Masters." 

Gatomon finally smiled a bit. "Thanks." 

"No prob," Eevee said. "We angels gotta stick together, right?" 

Next Episode:   
The trial begins, and the digidestined must prove Gatomon is innocent. But, the Dark Ocean makes its move, and Sneasel is revealed to the digidestined. Next time on Digimon: Digicross...   
'Sneasel's Gambit'   



	18. Kidnap part 2: Sneasel's Gambit

Digimon: Digicross Episode 17   
'Kidnap Part 2: Sneasel's Gambit' 

== 

"Seth. Wake up!" Wizardmon shook his partner, who was still asleep. 

"C'mon, Wizardmon" Seth said, blinking the sand out of his eyes. "I get a day off today, and I wanna sleep in for once." 

"I am sorry, but a friend of mine is in trouble, and only you can help me get there." 

Seth, having come to semi-consciousness, looked at Wizardmon, decided that it wasn't worth arguing the point, and got up. He took a few minutes to get dressed and cleaned up, left a note on the table telling his parents that he'd be out for a while, and went back to his room. "OK, what's the big emergency." 

"I need you to get me to the digital world." 

== 

"Are you sure about this, Izzy" Ken said into the phone. 

"Yes. I know this'll hurt, but it might not be a good idea for you to show up in Shogungeckomon's village just yet. If Flybeemon can get them worked up over stuff that Gatomon did a long time ago-" 

"Then he'll have a field day when the Digimon Emperor shows up" Ken said resignedly. 

"It's-" Izzy started, then stopped. He realized that it was exactly like that. "I'm sorry" Izzy said. 

"Don't be. If you need me, call me." 

Minomon hopped up onto Ken's bed as he placed the pokegear phone on his desk. "You could go anyway Ken. No one could stop you. We could even disguise ourselves." 

Ken sighed a bit, shaking his head. "It's more logical for me to stay here. I don't have to like it, but what else can I do?" 

The computer in Ken's room glowed, and Ryo and Charmeleon stepped out. "Hey, mind if an old friend stops by?" 

"What...shouldn't you be at the trial?" 

Charmeleon shook his head. "Nah. Ryo and I have done all we can, so Izzy said we should stop by and catch up. So, Minomon, how's it hanging?" 

== 

Friday afternoon finally came. Kari, Yolei, Izzy, and TK went to the digital world first; the rest of the team would follow when they had the chance to get away without arousing suspicion. Outside of the village, the newly established portal glowed, and the digidestined stepped out. Even at that distance from the town, they could hear shouts from the town center, where the trial was to take place. 

"Did they start early" Yolei asked. 

"No, Geckomon voices just carry really well" Hawkmon explained. "You can hear one whispering across a football field in the middle of a game." The group moved off. 

On the way to the village, Kari noticed Izzy moving towards her. "Kari?" 

"Y...yes?" 

"Are you OK? I know this has been a really rough week for you and all." 

"I..." Tell him, a part of her said. "I'm fine." She looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't. Wisely, Izzy didn't press her. 

At the edge of town, Kyle greeted them, along with another human. "Where's Gatomon?" Kari asked, trying not to sound angry. 

"We stalled them as long as possible, but they demanded the trial start today, so Starmon let it." 

"But we were going to speak for her!" Izzy said angrily. 

Kyle smiled a bit. "It's under control. Guys, this is Seth, he's a digidestined from America." 

"Pleased to meet you" Seth said. "And don't worry, Gatomon got an old friend to speak for her." 

== 

"I object" Wizardmon said, controlled voice betraying only a hint of his anger. "The purpose of this trial is to determine Gatomon's innocence, not replay her past." Guarded by Patamon, Scizor, and Eevee, Gatomon couldn't believe that her old friend had come to her aid again. 

"She's an agent of evil" Flybeemon roared, less in control of his emotions. "I am trying to establish that she is a killer!" 

"Many of us did things we're not proud of" Wizardmon said, taking time to glance at the statue of Shogungeckomon, and several of the digimon in the crowd. Many of the watchers shuffled uneasily. "If you wish to try everyone who assisted Myotismon or the Dark Masters, or Etemon, or Devimon for that matter, then we will be here until the end of time! If you wish to call up her past, then maybe you can explain why the powers of Light chose her to be their representative! Will you call Ogremon up? He's guarding Primary Village now. Or what about Digitamamon? Or Mega Seadramon? Will you cast judgement on the entire digital world, Flybeemon?" 

"That's enough" Starmon said, rapping the gavel on the hastily assembled podium. "We're hear for a trial, not speeches." 

"Humph" Flybeemon snorted. "You're probably sold on her sob story too." 

Starmon's eyes narrowed. "You doubtin' my judgement, boy? You keep this up, and I'll throw this case out and have you dragged outta here. I'm callin' five minutes for everyone to cool down." Starmon rapped the gavel on the table, and walked off. 

"I think we have a good chance" Wizardmon said to his friend. 

"Wizardmon?" Kari, having just arrived at the site of the trial, ran over to the digimon. "You're back?" 

"It is good to see you again, Kari. I see you've already met Seth, my partner." Seth nodded, waved. 

"I'm really glad you made it here" Izzy said. "Did you find anything?" 

"Yeah" Patamon nodded. "Cyberarcanine was able to pick out traces of who attacked Shogungeckomon. We found traces of the attack used." 

"Two slashes, not three" Kyle added. "Whoever did it has only two blades on whatever weapon was used. Plus we've already proven that Gatomon doesn't have nearly enough power to destroy an ultimate by herself." 

"That'd still have to be a pretty quick attack," TK observed. 

"Yeah, but it's not impossible" Ryp replied. "Heck, some pokemon know one shot knockout moves, why not digimon? Besides, with the amount of time between when Ninjamon left Shogungeckomon alone and the time he got back, there was only time for a single attack." 

"What about the hypnosis" Yolei asked. 

"That, we have no clue on" Kyle answered. "Lots of digimon have similar abilities; my guess it'd be someone aligned with whoever was creating all those control spire digimon you've been fighting." 

"But why Gatomon" TK wondered. "Why go to all the trouble to frame her, and make it so easy to prove she's innocent?" 

== 

From a rooftop, Sneasel watched the proceedings. "Master," she said, "she's here." 

Watching through Sneasel's eyes, Demon saw the digidestined gathered around Gatomon. "Excellent. Wait for my signal, then digivolve and attack. You know the plan." 

== 

The trial took the rest of the afternoon, but was looking good for Gatomon. Between the evidence that Kyle and Ryo were able to find, Izzy's and Wizardmon's arguments, and the jury realizing that Flybeemon's case was driven more by anger than evidence, which Ninjamon admitted was not necessarily 100% accurate, Kari's spirit began to lift up. 

"Has the jury reached a decision?" 

"Verdict, Mr. Starmon sir" One of the Geckomon supplied. 

"Whatever. You all made up your minds?" 

One of the Floramon stood up. "Well, we thought about it, but there's not enough evidence to prove Gatomon did it. She's innocent." 

"WHAT" Flybeemon roared. "NO! I refuse to accept that!" Scizor moved between the angry digimon and Gatomon. Starmon got up, ready to tell Flybeemon to sit the heck down, when a roar stopped everyone. 

A giant black catlike monster, licks of flame on its fur, landed in front of Gatomon. "Lynxmon" Eevee yelled. With a roar, Lynxmon knocked Patamon and Eevee clear, grabbed Gatomon in her mouth, and took off. All that before anyone could even react. 

"Gatomon" Kari yelled, running after them, the rest of the digidestined following. Dimly, she heard the partner digimon digivolve, but she was more focussed on finding her friend. 

== 

Gatomon came to, wondering if she had dreamed the last week. Then, she felt cold iron on her arms, and found she was chained to a wall. She struggled, but couldn't break free. Then a figure walked out of the shadows towards her. 

"So, you're awake" Sneasel said. "That's good. I want you to know what's going to happen." 

"Who are you" Gatomon demanded. "Are you the one that framed me?" 

Sneasel bowed. "But of course. And before you get any fancy ideas of your friends rushing to your rescue, I should tell you that I never really wanted you destroyed." 

"What are you talking about!" Then, horrified, she watched as Sneasel's body rippled and shifted into an exact likeness of Gatomon's! Then it occurred to her. Something about the way this enemy moved. "You're...you're a pokemon." 

"Once," Sneasel allowed. "But I've gotten much better than any stupid human could have taken me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Kari while you're out." Savoring Gatomon's frantic struggles, Sneasel left the small room. 

== 

Kari kept searching, running down one street after another. She had begun to tire, her desperation and fear for the safety of her friend not able to keep the fatigue away. Near collapse, Kari leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. "Gatomon, where are you?" 

A faint gust of wind caught her attention. Looking, she saw Scizor there, looking at Kari, concern on his face. "Did you find her?" Scizor shook his head, indicating he didn't. "I know she's near, but I can't go any further." 

Scizor thought for a second, then extended an arm. Looking at Kari, Scizor nodded to her. "You're offering me a lift?" Scizor nodded again, kneeling a bit so Kari could climb on. Kari wrapped her arms around the pokemon's neck, and got ready. "That way," she said, feeling a bit silly. The bug pokemon nodded, and jumped. 

== 

The digidestined had split up into several groups, trying to find Gatomon and Lynxmon. Seth, and Wizardmon were searching one area when they heard the sound of struggles inside a house. Shurimon shattered the door, and they found Gatomon chained to a wall. 

"You have to get me out of here! She's after Kari!" As soon as Wizardmon broke the chain holding her, Gatomon darted past the two and out the door, rapidly vanishing from sight. 

"What's with her" Seth asked, frustrated. 

"She's scared. Scared and angrier than I've ever seen her." Wizardmon scanned the area, looking for Gatomon. "We have to find her. In her current mental state, she may walk into a trap." 

"This is taking too long. Shurimon, we can go faster if you digivolve to Aquilamon!" 

"Right." Shurimon nodded, glowed, and reverted to Hawkmon. "Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquillamon!" 

"Let's get on" Wizardmon said to Seth. "Gatomon has a better chance of finding Kari than we do!" 

== 

"Up there!" Kari called, pointing to a rooftop. Scizor nodded, and, jumping from roof to roof, landed where Kari had indicated. 

"Kari? is that you?" From behind a pile of boxes, Gatomon limped out, one of her claw-gloves missing. 

"Gatomon!" Kari hopped down from Scizor's grip, and ran over to the digimon. "Where's Lynxmon?" 

"He got away," Gatomon replied. "I think I injured her, but she said something about getting help from someone. If we follow her, we can find out who framed me." Gatomon hopped down. "Come on." Gatomon walked to the edge of the roof, and Kari started to follow her. 

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" As Kari and Scizor watched, a second Gatomon leaped onto the first Gatomon and the two started fighting. 

The real Gatomon didn't say much; she was too enraged by what Sneasel had done to her, and had implied she would do to Kari, to think or fight rationally. In addition, the week had drained her, both physically and emotionally. 

Which had been Sneasel and Demon's plan all along. Dodging a pair of swipes from Gatomon, Sneasel backhanded the digimon, knocking her out. "Pathetic," Sneasel said, tracing a claw under Gatomon's chin. Gatomon stirred, but couldn't regain consciousness yet. Confident that all the obstacles were out of the way, Sneasel let her disguise drop. 

Kari backed away from the creature. "You're not Gatomon" she said, scared. 

Sneasel gave the girl an evil grin, stepping past the unconscious Gatomon. "You will come with me now, yes?" Scizor stepped in front of the evil pokemon, intent on defending Kari. The bug pokemon growled a challenge, which Sneasel, claws extended and continuing to wear that evil smile, agreed. 

Kari blinked, and almost missed the two pokemon battle. Scizor and Sneasel were almost matched for Agility; Scizor's steel-like skin gave him a powerful advantage. It was the type of battle that Scizor would normally have won. Kari saw that the bug pokemon had already landed several powerful blows with his claws, and that Sneasel was unable to do any real damage to the pokemon she was fighting. 

"So, I see that fool can train a decent fighter. Let's see how you do against an opponent that can do this! Sneasel, Digivolve to...Lynxmon!" With a flash, the small catlike pokemon changed into a giant flaming cat that Kari recognized instantly. "You're the one...Scizor, she can use fire attacks" she yelled, remembering what Scizor was weak against. "Be careful!" 

Lynxmon ignored the girl, focussing on the greater threat. Scizor leaped, trying to figure out how to battle this new opponent; he noted that Sneasel's digivolution seemed to regenerate her wounds, while Scizor had not fully recovered from his fight with Sneasel. The two battled for a few seconds, Scizor parrying Lynxmon's Wild Nail Rush and Fury Cutter attacks. Tiring of this, Lynxmon jumped back and launched a wave of fire at Scizor. 

Scizor jumped over the attack, and retaliated with a Hyper Beam. Lynxmon almost dodged that attack, her back right leg getting grazed by the powerful attack. "So, you're fast on your feet" Lynxmon snarled. "But can you beat this?" A second wave of flame was launched, this one aimed at Kari! 

To his credit, Scizor didn't hesitate for a second; he didn't have time to move Kari clear, so he interposed himself between her and the attack. Horrified, Kari watched as the wave of fire washed over Scizor. 

However, the bug pokemon, forewarned by Kari, had been expecting this type of attack. He recalled Kyle teaching him a special variant of the Swords Dance technique that one of the gym leaders in the Johto region used. Extending his wings and spinning in place, Scizor was able to deflect most of the flame away from himself and Kari. He still felt the heat bite into him, as his body conducted some of the heat from the attack right into him. 

Kari stepped back, dust kicked up by Scizor's defense blinding her for a second. "Are you alright," she asked, worried that Scizor might not be able to beat this opponent. Her fear quickly turned to anger, and she stared defiantly at Lynxmon, trying to figure out how to fight this monster. Beside her, she saw Gatomon slowly get up, having recovered from the fight with Sneasel. 

"Do we have to do this all day" Lynxmon asked, limping slightly as she advanced on Kari and Gatomon. Her next words were lost as a pair of lighting blasts hit her. On the opposite end of the rooftop, Aquillamon landed, and Yolei, Seth, and Wizardmon hopped off the bug digimon's back. Behind Kari, Kabuterimon landed on the rooftop, carrying Izzy. 

"Get away from her" Izzy roared. Lynxmon glowed, and reverted to Sneasel. "We know you're working for the Dark Ocean, and that you've been after Kari all this time." 

"I would suggest you stay there, young lady" Wizardmon added, pointing his staff at the dark pokemon. "My partner has already called the others, and reinforcements are on the way." Seth nodded, leveling an unpleasant glare at Sneasel. 

"Well then, I guess I should be leaving." Sneasel let out a loud screech, which caused everyone to flinch. Then, pulling out what looked like a silver thread, she hurled it at the center of the roof, embedding the silvery needle in the roof. There was a faint hum, and the center of the roof was covered by a swirling black hole! 

"Now, master" Sneasel yelled, jumping in. As she did, several shadowy creatures flowed out, reaching for Kari. Shurimon fought the wave, but was quickly overwhelmed. Yolei grabbed Kari's arm to pull her away, but both were caught and pulled towards the vortex. 

"KARI!" Izzy and Gatomon grabbed Kari's arm, trying to pull her away from the hole. Kabuterimon grabbed Izzy, determined to let neither human fall in. Aquillamon flew over, dropping Yolei, Seth, and Wizardmon off, then reverted to Hawkmon, and they began pulling too. Even with all that, Kari was still being pulled in. 

"Izzy," Kari screamed. "Let go! You'll be pulled in to!" 

"I'm...not...letting...go!" More determined than ever, Izzy tightened his grip, pulled all the harder. From the hole, a voice called 'Acid Mist' and a spray of green gas emenated from the portal. Izzy ducked, as did Yolei. Kabuterimon was hit, reverting to Tentomon. Wizardmon was also hit, instinctively let go, and he and Seth tumbled over backwards, only to watch as the rest of the group was pulled through the portal! As the portal closed, Seth and Wizardmon saw Scizor stand up and jump in too, Tentomon following him. Seth cursed violently over what happened; Wizardmon made a note to talk with the boy about his language later. Now, he had larger problems to deal with. 

Next Episode:   
Kari, Gatomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Izzy, and Tentomon have been drawn into the Dark Ocean. Can they escape, especially when an entire world is lined up against them? Also, Scizor faces his toughest battle, in the next episode of Digimon: Digicross...   
'Silphymon's Lightning Speed' 


	19. Kidnap part 3: Sylphimon's Lightning

Digimon Digicross Episode 18   
'Kidnap Part 3: Silphymon's Lightning Speed' 

"Izzy. Izzy, wake up!" 

Izzy slowly came to. His last clear memory was trying to pull Kari out of a pit of darkness, then he'd had the unpleasant sensation of falling, then...nothing. "Where...where am I?" 

"I don't know" Yolei said. "They captured us just after we came here. They took Hawkmon and Gatomon with them, and they took Kari somewhere a few hours ago." 

"Kari...KARI! Where is she?" Izzy got up, looking around. 

"I don't know," Yolei answered, aware of how Izzy felt about Kari. "I didn't see Scizor or Tentomon when we came here. They might be free still..." 

Izzy looked around desperately. His mind started to work again, and he checked what he still had with him. "I still have my digivice" he wondered, surprised the guards had not taken it. 

"Mine too. And my D-Terminal," Yolei replied. "I can't get through to the others, and without Hawkmon, my D-3 is useless. And I wish they'd stop playing that blasted ocean sounds music!" 

Izzy blinked at Yolei, and listened. Then, he too heard it. The sound of waves crashing on rocks... 

==Digital World. 

Tai had shown up just after Sneasel's attack, hoping to add moral support. Instead, he had found that his sister was gone, as were Izzy and Yolei, their digimon, and Scizor. Needless to say, he hadn't taken it well. 

"YOU JUST STOOD THERE" Tai roared, holding Seth by his shirt. 

"Just back off!" Seth shoved Tai back, also angry. "If you think I just let them get away, I'll-" 

"Both of you, knock it off!" Cody got between the two. "There's no point blaming anyone for this, we should be trying to find a way to get her back!" 

"But-" 

"SHUT UP TAI!" Everyone stopped, staring at Davis. The digidestined, Veemon standing beside him, looked at Tai, face twisted by fury. "You think you're the only one that wants to get her back? She's our friend too, so stop acting like a jerk and help us already!" 

No one spoke for a second. Tai slumped down to his knees, emotionally drained. 

"I called Ken and Ryo" TK said to Davis. "They said to meet us at Ken's old base; he says he has an idea. And they said that Baihumon would meet us there too." 

"Great. Let's get going." 

As the group headed out, Davis went up beside Seth. "Hey, I'm sorry about Tai. He's, well..." 

"Forget it" Seth replied. "Something like that happened to me, I'd go nuts too." 

Davis looked at June, alongside Kyle. "Yeah" he said, remembering the fight against Cyclomon. "I know what you mean. Don't tell her I said that, though." 

Seth grinned. "My lips are sealed." At the town outskirts, all the monsters that could digivolve to flyers did so, and carried the children off to the site of the Emperor's old base. 

== 

Kari knew that this wasn't real. She knew that she was taken prisoner by the same people that had tried to capture her once before and make her their 'queen'. She knew that, as the bearer of the Crest of Light, she was being singled out for her unusual abilities. That didn't make the nightmare hallucinations Demon was feeding her any less painful to experience. 

"This is all your fault," the image of Tai screamed at her. As Kari watched, 'Tai' began to turn into stone, then crumbled. "If you were stronger, I'd still be alive!" 

"Gatomon" Kari called. "Help me!" 

"I'm coming, Kari!" With relief, she saw Gatomon coming towards her, face unmarred by hate or anger. Then, she watched as her partner was speared by a bolt of electricity, and slammed against a wall. 

"No!" Kari moved towards Gatomon, but a forearm struck her, pinning her to the wall only a few feet from her digimon. In front of her, the Digimon Emperor's face leered. "You think you're so special," the face said. "You're just a coward." 

Kari struggled, trying to get to her partner. 

"Looking for this," the Emperor asked, holding up Kari's digivice. As she watched, the screen, then the D-3 itself began to crack, then shattered into countless pieces. As it did, so did Gatomon's image. "You're just a pretender. You were a fine puppet for the forces of Light, but little else." 

"You're lying!" Kari shouted back, denying the image. 

The emperor pulled his goggles off, revealing Izzy's face underneath. "I don't know what I ever saw in you..." 

== 

Demon and Dagomon watched the girl, unconscious and lying down inside a field of dark energy. "Progress?" 

"None, my lord" Dagomon replied angrily. "Her body rejected the Dark Spore we tried to implant when she was brought here, and her will is yet too strong to condition her mind to accept it." Dagomon glared at the unconscious girl, furious. "Why do we not just destroy her?" 

Demon held back a chuckle. "You're just angry because your precious Deep Ones botched the job so miserably. 'Scubamon', please." 

Dagomon flinched, not wishing to be reminded of that debacle. He had executed the Deep Ones that had failed him, but he was still needled about it by his peers. 

"As for the girl," Demon said, "she is more use to me alive and filled with the power of the Dark Ocean. Once she is, we defeat the powers of Light, open the gates to the Digital World, and simply flood the place." Demon chuckled at his small joke, then left, heading back to his throne room. 

There, Demon met Arukenimon. "Now. my dear, we must do something about your track record." 

"It's not my fault. Turning control spires into digimon is a fine plan, but those kids have been blowing up every spire they could once they found out what we were doing. And now that they have two ultimate digimon on their side." 

"Then we should even the playing field a bit." Demon ushered Arukenimon through a door, onto, a small balcony overlooking a vast field. 

A field of Control Spires. 

"Will this be enough to suit your needs? Rest assured, I can easily create more." 

==Digital World, an hour ago 

Since meeting his old friend again, Ken had hoped that he could put his days as the Emperor behind him. At the beginning of the day, Ken and Ryo had managed to slip out, taking advantage of a convenient day off from school so the two friends could really catch up on old times. They didn't know that Baihumon had managed to arrange to have Ken's entire school undergo a full fire safety inspection, nor would they have cared. 

Then, Ryo had gotten the message of Kari's abduction. The two had hurried back to Ken's place, and taken a portal to the digital world, coming out in Primary Village. There, Baihumon, in his true form, had met them, filled them in on the specifics of the situation, as well as who had done it. 

"The Dark Ocean," Baihumon had said. "I'm sure of it, this has all their trademarks." 

"Can we get Kari back?" Wormmon had asked. He had felt, dimly, the power of the other dimension, and feared the worst. 

"Not without a stable portal. And they'd have been sure to take care of every one they knew of before carrying this out." 

Ken didn't say anything for a second. Then, "I know where there might be one." That was why, an hour later, Ken, Ryo, their partner monsters, and Baihumon were looking over the wreckage of Ken's old base. The former Emperor shivered, trying to fight back the nausea he felt as he looked at the place. Ryo put his hand on Ken's shoulder, trying to ease his friend's mind. 

A roar caught their ears. "That must be Charizard" Wormmon said, searching for the fire pokemon. The group spotted him, and the rest of the digidestined heading towards them. Ken noted that Tai and Agumon were there too, and wondered if he'd have a chance to explain his plan before Greymon deep-fried him. 

"We got here as soon as we could," Davis said, hopping off of Exveemon's back when they landed. "What's the plan?" 

"Inside the...base" Ken said. "Baihumon said that the Dark Ocean was behind Kari's kidnapping. I think that place gave the power to my base as well. Nothing else could have restrained the power of the golden digiegg for as long as it was." 

"So there's a portal inside?" Tai looked at Ken, who stepped back. 

"Easy, Tai" TK said. "If Ken's right, it's as good a plan as any." 

Ryo nodded. "So we go inside, find out where the power came from, and use it to build a portal to the Dark Ocean, charge in, and rescue everyone." 

"Simple" Seth said, standing beside Wizardmon. Ken then led the group into the base. 

==Dark Ocean 

"So far, so good" Tentomon said to Scizor, who was watching for any more attackers. "Though I'd feel better if we were someplace else. Florida comes to mind." Tentomon babbled a bit more, trying to mask the fear he felt. It was understandable to Scizor; without Izzy, Tentomon couldn't digivolve, and they were behind enemy lines, so to speak. Scizor himself was also worn down. He still had not recovered from his fight with Lynxmon, and when they had landed, the pair had been forced to deal with a small squad of shadowy beings. 

The shadow-beings fell easily enough, Scizor thought. But he could easily get swarmed; his training was mostly for one on one battles in the Pokemon leagues; in a standing fight against a numerically superior opponent, he'd lose. Then, the bug pokemon heard a sound, and raised a claw. 

"What is it?" Tentomon hissed, trying to keep quiet. 

Scizor narrowed his eyes, trying to look past the shadow-beings in front of the door. Just past them, Scizor could make out the sound of Hawkmon trying to rouse someone. Gatomon! Quickly, he motioned Tentomon to wait here, while Scizor drew the Deep Ones away from the door. Getting their attention should be easy enough... 

"Who's there" the faint half-voice rasped. One of the Deep ones moved towards Scizor, who had stepped out into plain sight. "Did the Master send you...?" Scizor's reply, a powered up Metal Claw, gave the Deep One his answer, about a second before the demonic entity discorporated. Scizor took no pleasure in destroying the creature, but he knew the folly of leaving someone behind to sound an alarm. 

The two other deep ones watched this and moved to attack Scizor. The pokemon darted back, luring them past Tentomon. When the two were in position, the Deep Ones were felled by a combination of Scizor's Swift attack and Tentomon's Super Shocker. Once they were dispatched, the two monsters rushed to the door. 

Opening it, they found Hawkmon on the ground, Gatomon lying beside him, writhing in agony. "We have to get her out of here," Hawkmon said urgently. "I think whatever they're doing to Kari is having an effect on her, too!" 

"We'll do what we can" Tentomon said. "Just one question. Where did they take her?" 

Tentomon's voice roused Gatomon. "K...Kari...." She blinked twice, saw Scizor and Tentomon standing over her. "You're here. We have to find Kari now! They're doing something to her!" 

"Wouldn't we be better off if we found Izzy and Yolei first" Tentomon hazarded. "We'd have a batter chance at saving her if Hawkmon and I could digivolve." 

"No! We have to find Kari first!" 

"He's right," Hawkmon said. "Two rookies, a weakened champion digimon, and a pokemon that's already been in several fights today won't have a chance against at least two ultimate level digimon!" 

"You do what you want!" Gatomon turned to leave. "I'm going after Kari!" Gatomon turned to leave, but Scizor blocked her way. "Outta my way, bug!" 

"Knock...it...off," Scizor rasped, throwing the words Gatomon had said to him back in Andromon's city, a seeming eternity ago. The other monsters stared, not sure what to make of Scizor's newfound ability to speak. 

==Digital World 

Ken led the group inside his base, recalling dimly the way around. "OK, the main power core is just past the spire generator." 

"I thought we wrecked it," Cody said, remembering his time inside the base. 

"It was a control room, but not the actual equipment itself" Ken replied. He opened a large door. "It's just past-" He stopped, stunned. 

"What is it?" Davis asked, pushing past everyone to see what Ken saw. All he saw was an empty room. 

"The Spire constructor." Ken breathed, unable to believe what he saw. "It's...gone." 

"Maybe it vanished when the base was wrecked." TK said. 

"No!" Ken insisted. "It was a physical construct, I know it!" 

Ryo calmed his friend down. "Easy, kid. Let's just find the main power core, then we can get our friends back, alright?" Ken nodded, and continued leading. 

Wizardmon hung back, surveying the empty room. "What's up?" Armadillomon asked, noticing Wizardmon staying behind. 

"Ken was right," Wizardmon said. "Someone else has been here. I fear the worst." 

"Well, we got more important things to deal with now" Armadillomon replied. "The golden digiegg was powering this place, and it's gone now, right? So all whoever it was that made off with the doohickey just got a big pile of junk." 

"Yes," Wizardmon said, unconvinced, "perhaps." 

Inside the power Room, Ken quickly set to work checking some of the systems. "As the Emperor, I knew the power for this base came from an external source, but I never suspected that it came from another dimension. From what you told me, I think...yes!" Ken pointed to a small panel, which was still dimly lit. 

Baihumon, in his human guise, looked at the panel. "Yes. That is the Dark Ocean's energy. And this base is still receiving a small amount of it. There may be enough to open a portal as planned." 

"Hold it." TK said. "Where is this portal going to open?" 

"He's right." Patamon stared at Ken. "If we don't watch where we put the other end of the portal, we could wind up hip deep in bad guys." 

"If you mean Deep Ones" Baihumon said, "Don't worry. They're specialty is swarming, but they're not too strong, or smart. And don't worry about the portal. I've had a bit of experience with this sort of thing." 

"Deep ones?" Davis asked TK, confused. 

"It's those things that took Kari when she was dragged off to that alternate world. They impersonated Digimon, but Angewomon was able to drive them away. They were saying something about making Kari their queen." 

Baihumon winced. "I was afraid of that. They may be trying to corrupt Kari in the same way they did Ken. We'd better hurry. Relax." he told Tai, who looked ready to explode. "Kari's much stronger than you give her credit for. The powers of Light chose well when they picked her." 

==Dark Ocean 

"Sir," Arukenimon reported, "the digidestined in the Digital World are attempting to open a portal here." 

"Hmm. Who saw that one coming," Demon replied. "Well, we should reward their efforts. My dear, if you could? We should be able to manage two conscripts." 

Arukenimon nodded, plucking out several strands of hair. "Spirit Needle!" The silver darts embedded themselves in some of the control spires. The spires lifted, formed into two points of light, and reshaped themselves into digimon! 

When the process was completed, Arukenimon addressed the artificial digimon. "Go destroy the digidestined trying to come here and the base as well. We can't afford to have anyone else following them here." The two nodded, and headed through a rift in the sky that Demon opened for them. 

As they left, Demon turned to Arukenimon. "Megadramon and a viral WereGarurumon? You do have taste." 

== 

The group of monsters slowly crept along the corridors, Gatomon getting edgier with every minute. She could feel the torment that her partner was going through, yet as she got closer, she could also feel that Kari was still there, unbroken. "Just hold on," she said quietly, waiting for Hawkmon and Tentomon to return from scouting ahead. "We'll be there soon." Beside her, Scizor put a claw on her head, indicating that he shared her sentiments. 

Finally, the two rookie digimon returned. "I think we found them" Tentomon said, pointing to the direction he had come from. 

"Well, I know Yolei's voice better than anyone's," Hawkmon added, drawing a smirk from Gatomon, appreciating the attempt at humor. "The bad news is that there are more of those things guarding the way in." 

Scizor stood up, wings extended. "No...problem," he said. His voice was starting to smooth out, though it still reminded Hawkmon faintly of the time Yolei was playing with a synthesizer after one of Matt's concerts. 

Tentomon watched as Scizor moved towards the guards. "That voice is starting to creep me out. So, are we going to help him?" 

== 

The five Deep Ones wondered what they had done to anger Dagomon so. Guard duty was bad enough, but that purple haired girl was making an unpleasant job ten times worse. If she wasn't screaming her lungs out, she was pestering every guard within earshot. 

"Hey," Yolei yelled out of the cell she and Izzy were in, "I want a phone call! You hear me?" 

"Yolei, forget it." Izzy said, despairing. "Yelling at them won't get us out of here. And there aren't any phones we could use anyway." 

"Well, just giving up won't help! Listen, I might not be as all knowing as you are, but I do know that Kari won't go for someone who curls up and surrenders at the first sign of trouble!" 

Hurt by the barb, Izzy snapp[ed back at Yolei. "How is yelling at those shadows going to help us or Kari?" 

"How should I know? Maybe I'll get one of them ticked off enough to open the door and come in. When he does, you hit him over the head with..." Yolei trailed off, not sure what they could hit a Deep One with, much less what they could do after that. "Alright, it's not a perfect plan! But I'm not giving up!" 

From behind the door where the guards were, there were sounds of a scuffle. Then, the door was blown away in a blast of golden light and electricity. Through the wreckage, Scizor and Tentomon stepped through. 

"Tentomon" Izzy said, spirits brightening. 

"Good to see you again," Tentomon replied, setting to work on the cell door. The bug digimon cocked his head over, calling to Scizor and Hawkmon, who also stepped through. "A little help here, please?" A less violent barrage of electricity, spinning feathers, and stars hit the lock to the door, opening the cell. 

Izzy and Yolei grabbed their partners, glad to see them relatively unharmed. "Now what," Yolei asked. "Do you know where they took Kari?" 

"No" Gatomon said. "But we have to find her, now." 

"Now that we're free, maybe..." Yolei took out her D-3, and started scanning for Kari's digivice. "They didn't take our digivices, so Kari might still have hers with her. It's a weak signal, but I think I can track it. This way!" 

== 

Demon noted the alarm from the area where the other two digidestined were held. Waving a hand, he summoned up a rectangular wall of fog, which showed a hazy image of the digidestined, their partner digimon, Gatomon, and Scizor headed towards where Kari was being brainwashed. 

"Sneasel. You are needed." A shadow materialized in front of Demon. "You have an unfinished battle to settle. Go to where the girl is being kept and await the chance to attack." In one of his hands, a ball of black energy formed. He transferred the energy into Sneasel, causing the pokemon to shudder for a few minutes at the raw power flowing through her now. "You should now be more than a match for them, even if they do free the girl." 

Sneasel nodded, and left the room. Demon took one more look at the status of Kari's brainwashing. If he had an eyebrow, he would have arched it, surprised that the girl had still managed to resist being subjected to the power of the Dark Ocean. 

"I may have underestimated them." 

== 

Komainumon parried, kicked, and launched several Dragon Fangs at his opponent. But the smaller figure moved with almost unbelievable agility, and was able to land several punishing attacks of its own. 

"I'm glad Ken didn't get a hold of Gabumon," Komainumon muttered. "This guy could put Metal Greymon to shame." Grunting, the DNA digimon launched another set of attacks at the black Were Garurumon. 

In the air, Dino Beemon fought against the much larger Megadramon. The two digimon were matched in terms of ferocity, though Megadramon was able to fly much more easily than Dino Beemon was, and his Dark Side attack was much more accurate than Dino Beemon's Irritant Buzz. Plus Megadramon was keeping well out of reach of his Kaiser Blades, too. 

More insidiously, the two attacking digimon were keeping the defenders in a defensive posture; Komainumon and Dino Beemon had to defend the base as well as themselves. The Artificial digimon, slaves to Arukenimon's will, couldn't care less about their own lives or those of their opponents. 

Inside was no better. While Ken and Baihumon worked to establish a portal, the rest of the digidestined were trying to fight off waves of Deep Ones, who were trying to destroy the attempt to open a portal and rescue those digidestined trapped in the Dark Ocean. Worse, Veemon, Patamon, and Armadillomon couldn't digivolve to their more powerful Champion forms; one wrong shot could easily destroy the work Ken and Baihumon were doing. Fortunately, Flareon was able to operate effectively in the enclosed environment. Beside him, Ivysaur's accurate Razor Leaves and Vine Whips kept the horde back. Agumon and Wizardmon stayed with the children, picking off any Deep Ones that managed to get through even that line up of monsters. 

Like Kyle, Ryo had released those pokemon he had with him. Backing up Flareon and Ivysaur, a Vaporeon fired blasts of water and ice, and a Noctowl swooped among the hordes, hypnotizing and tackling those monsters he could. There had been a brief moment of panic when Magby managed to get out; the baby pokemon had managed to stop one Deep One, but Ryo called it back before the baby pokemon could be hurt by a second one. 

"Where are these things coming from?" Flamedramon snarled as he dispatched two more. 

"The spire room." Pegasusmon called, seeing the door that had been torn open, more Deep Ones marching through. 

"Well then, let's push em back! GOLD RUSH!" The missiles slammed into more Deep Ones, dispatching them. 

"Right. Gotta blast 'em all!" Flareon called, leading the rush. "Hey, when's that portal gonna be ready?" 

"Soon!" Baihumon called. "Those things must have a generator in the other room. If you can find it and wreck it, we'll be a lot better off!" 

"Generator?" Davis and Cody asked. 

"Yeah. Those Deep Ones don't have a will of their own; they're just bits of darkness given form and limited awareness. They're no different from control spires, when you think about it." 

"Just disposable soldiers," TK said, sickened by the idea. 

"Later!" Ryo said. "Vaporeon, Whirlpool!" 

"Flareon, use your Fire Spin!" the two pokemon launched spinning vortexes of fire and water, which created a hole in the army of darkness (tm). Flamedramon led the armour digimon through, towards the room that once housed the spire generator. The group of monsters was intent on finishing this battle. 

== 

It was Izzy that spotted Kari's D-Terminal. He ran over and picked it up, then started looking around. "No. here could she be?" Frustration began creeping into his voice. 

"Over there," Hawkmon said, indicating an archway. Running inside, the group found Kari, still unconscious and imprisoned inside a field of black energy. Izzy and Gatomon ran over, trying to free Kari from it's grip. Izzy could see her digivice, at her waist where she always kept it. He swore he could see a faint sparkle of light from it. 

The rest of the group scoured the area, trying to find some clue of how to get home. A flicker of movement caught Hawkmon's eye, and he hurled a Feather Strike at a shadow. There was a shriek, and a small digimon fell out. Yolei ran over, grabbed the Gazimon, and pinned it to the wall. "OK, how do we get Kari out, and how do we get home?" 

Pagumon looked at the digimon with her, weighing his chances. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just work here!" 

"That'd be for me to answer," a female voice said. everyone in the room looked at the newcomer. She appeared human, but was dressed in a red sleeveless trenchcoat, had white hair under a large hat, and purple gloves with spiderweb patterns on them. 

"And you would be...?" 

Arukenimon bowed to Yolei, unfazed by her tone. "Arukenimon. And don't let my looks fool you; this is just my everyday look. Here's my Sunday best!" With that, she shifted into something that resembled a hideously oversized spider, but the upper torso was vaguely human, with oversized arms, horns in her head, and a mask over her eyes. 

Another figure ran in. "Don't forget me," Sneasel said, tensing. "You and me have some unfinished business," she said, indicating Scizor. 

Izzy looked at the two evil monsters. "Let her go!" 

"I can't," a third voice said, and another digimon entered the room. He was twice the size of Arukenimon's spider form, and looked something like a bipedal octopus. "We're not done with her." 

"Please, Dagomon," Arukenimon mock-begged, "can't we have a little fun?" 

"No. Our master dislikes...spontaneous renovation. We will destroy them now." 

Izzy looked at Dagomon, not flinching. "Tentomon," he called to his partner. "Let's do it." 

"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon!" 

"Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquilamon!" The two champion digimon attacked, as did Scizor, but were quickly repulsed. Then, the fighters broke up into one to one fights; Scizor and Sneasel duelled in a lethal version of a pokemon battle, Aquilamon fought Arukenimon, and Kabuterimon battled Dagomon. 

Having no other ideas, Izzy began hammering on the field. "Wake up, Kari! We need you!" Below him, Gatomon was trying to smash the base of the table, hoping it would shut down if damaged enough. "Please, wake up!" 

Arukenimon noted Izzy's reaction as she fought Aquilamon. The giant bird was a good fighter, but he was at a disadvantage inside an enclosed area like this. It was only because the chamber had been designed to accommodate much larger digimon that he was able to move at all. Kabuterimon was a bit better off, as he was able to move around on his legs, and his wings were smaller and designed for hovering. 

Scizor and Sneasel traded blows, the bug pokemon waiting for the inevitable digivolution. "I know what you're thinking," Sneasel taunted. "You're thinking 'does she have one digivolution left, or two'." Scizor narrowed his eyes, wondering what she was getting at. "Well, let me answer that. Two! Sneasel, Dark digivolve to...Lady Devimon!" As Scizor watched, Sneasel seemed to shift into Lynxmon, but then stood up, body wreathed in dark fire. Then, the fire cleared, leaving a female human figure, blue skinned and clad in black leather. Bone white hair and fingernails could be seen. "Well, I am impressed." the former pokemon said. "I can see what that little rat got so worked up about." Catching Gatomon's eye, she taunted her some more. "So, what do you think? I think this is how an angel should really look." 

Izzy's spirit fell. There were three ultimates against them. They needed a miracle now. "Kari," he whispered, "please wake up. We need you." 

"Come on," Yolei said, trying to wake up Kari as well. "We didn't come all this way to save you just so you could conk out on us now!" 

"Let the girl rest" Arukenimon teased. 

Izzy looked up, fire in his eyes. "Leave. Her. ALONE!" 

Kabuterimon, being beaten back by Dagomon's assaults, felt the energy hit him, linked to Izzy's emotions. "Kabuterimon, digivolve to..." Dagomon charged in, trying to attack before the digivolution completed its cycle. He miscalculated, and found a large red horn thrust through his midsection. 

"Mega Kabuterimon," the Ultimate digimon completed, pulling his horn out of Dagomon. The demonic digimon reeled back and fled, his life force bleeding away. Mega Kabuterimon turned his attention to Arukenimon. The spider dodged the Horn Buster attack, and sprayed a cloud of acidic mist into the digimon's face. A lucky shot from Arukenimon's webs managed to immobilize Aquilamon, taking him out of the fight. 

It was Lady Devimon who was having the easiest fight. Having reached the Ultimate level, she was more than a match for the exhausted bug pokemon. Still, she toyed with Scizor, forcing him into a lethal game of dodging her spear like nails, laughing as Scizor dodged the attacks with increasing desperation. Finally, the bug pokemon slipped, and received a nasty blow across one of his legs. 

"NO!" Izzy yelled, slamming his hands down on the field holding Kari. That action, and the emotion behind it, finally connected. Kari's digivice began to glow, and the field began to weaken. 

Not noticing, Lady Devimon took careful aim at Scizor's head, savoring the moment. "Well, it was fun, but you must go now. See you in the spirit house, buggy boy." 

"My...swarm...will avenge me." 

Lady Devimon arched an eyebrow. "So, you can speak too? I'll have that inscribed on your tombstone." A cry from Arukenimon got her attention. She saw the field around Kari weakening. "I'll deal with you later" she snarled. Flying up, she took aim, intent on destroying the whole group at once. "Darkness Wave!" 

Izzy dashed around, getting between the attack and Kari. Yolei watched as Izzy was thrown back by the force of the blow, slammed into the field, and collapsed, wincing as he landed badly on one of his feet. The impact on the field disrupted the last of it, and Kari came to, shaking off the effects of the mental assault inflicted on her. It was fortunate that Lady Devimon's aim was a bit off; any closer and Izzy might not have survived the attack. 

Kari sat up on the table, fighting off the nausea and horror of her mental torture. "Where...Izzy!" Looking down, she saw Izzy, semi conscious. "What happened?" 

"Your doom!" Arukenimon and Lady Devimon snarled. Having lost the energy from Izzy, Mega Kabuterimon was quickly knocked out by the two evil monsters, reverting to Motimon. Aquilamon managed to free himself from the webbing, and resumed his attack. 

Kari tried to stand up, but the stress on her mind showed. She couldn't think straight, and she fell off the table, trying not to throw up. Yolei grabbed Kari and dragged her away from the table; Izzy staggered clear, limping from a sprained ankle. 

"Look out!" Scizor's voice cut across the battle, as the three humans were knocked over by a blast from Lady Devimon. She waved Arukenimon back, intent on finishing the group by herself. As she turned back to face her targets, Gatomon leaped up and began scratching the fallen angel's face and upper body with her claws. 

"Get off me!" Lady Devimon tried to claw Gatomon off her face, but the smaller digimon was able to dodge the worst of the clumsy attacks. Finally, Gatomon leaped clear, landing in front of the humans. "You...you DARE?" A blast of energy struck the angel from behind; Scizor had fired a Hyper Beam. A series of energy rings, launched by Aquilamon, pummeled Lady Devimon. Gatomon leaped again, ready to rake Lady Devimon's face again. 

"Rrr...DARKNESS WAVE!" This time, the attack had its intended purpose, as the digimon were the type of targets that could be affected by the attack. 

Gatomon watched as Aquilamon was slammed into the wall, landing near Motimon. "Kari! I need to digivolve!" Kari tried to summon the energy to trigger the evolution, but couldn't. 

"I...I'm too weak." 

"I'll help!" Yolei took Kari's arm and held it up, her digivice beginning to come to life. At Yolei's waist, her digivice began to activate as well. "We're going home!" 

Scizor staggered to his feet, wincing as the wound on his leg and the fatigue from the day drained the last of his energy. Beside him, Gatomon and Aquilamon stared down Lady Devimon, waiting for the attack. "You heard her," Aquilamon roared. "And what Yolei says, goes!" 

"Double for me!" Gatomon said. Beams of light from Yolei's and Kari's D-3s hit the digimon... 

"Aquilamon...Gatomon...DNA digivolve to...Silphymon!" 

==Digital World 

"Now!" 

At Komainumon's cry, Dino Beemon dropped, slashing Were Garurumon with his Kaiser Blades. The unexpected switch in opponents worked, as the artificial digimon exploded under the assault. Komainumon jumped as Dino Beemon landed, embedding his staff inside Megadramon's torso, launching his Celestial Edict through the hole. The second attacker also de-resolved. 

"They're both fake digimon," Komainumon said. "We'd better get back inside." Warily, he eyed Dino Beemon, wondering if the DNA digimon would attack. Dino Beemon stood there, trying to resist the urge to fight. Sensing the berserk fury was about to overtake him, he ended the digivolution, splitting into Charmander and Leafmon. Komainumon did the same. 

"We'd better get back inside," Growlithe said, trying to stand up. Beside him, Elecmon, teeth gritted, headed back to the base where his partner was. "You two alright?" 

Charmander staggered to his feet, tail-flame low. "I will be in a bit. No Infant or In-Training form to fall back to." Growlithe nodded, understanding him completely. "You got off OK," he said to Elecmon. 

"Long experience." The four monsters trudged back to the base, hoping their friends were alright. 

As they walked, Leafmon, hitching a ride on Growlithe's back, leaned his body over and asked the pokemon a question. "What's it like when you digivolve with Leomon?" 

"Biggest rush I ever felt, like I could take on all five Legendary Birds with three paws tied behind my back. I don't know if I could describe it any better. But you should know that, shouldn't you?" 

"I don't know. When I merge with Charizard, it feels good, but there's something missing," Leafmon whispered. "I don't know why, but I think it might be why Dino Beemon can't be controlled." 

== 

Inside the base, the monsters had managed to push the Deep Ones back to the Spire Creation Room. Inside, Noctowl was able to pick out the spire, and highlighted it using his Foresight so the others could see it. 

"All together now!" Flamedramon launched a hail of fireballs, passing over the heads of the Deep ones and hitting the sphere. Everyone else did like wise, and the sphere shattered under the combination of fire, ice, light, and steel missiles. As it collapsed, the remaining Deep Ones faded, their source of power destroyed. 

"All clear!" Flareon called back to the humans in the power room. 

"Great" Davis yelled. "Hey, how's the portal going?" 

"Almost done!" TK said, who had moved to help Ken and Baihumon. "Hey, this gauge is doing something funny!" 

Ken ran over and had a look. "It should be OK, we should be able to form the portal. But they'd better come through quickly, because I can't guarantee its stability!" 

"It'll hold," Baihumon grunted, controlling the flow of power. "But if you've got anything of value in here, you'd better plan on moving it soon!" He nodded to Davis and the others. "You might want to move over a bit. You're standing where the portal is going to form!" 

"How soon," Cody yelled. 

"Five seconds!" 

==Dark Ocean 

As soon as Silphymon appeared, Lady Devimon and Arukenimon changed targets, discarding Scizor in favor of the more dangerous Ultimate digimon. However, the misshapen spider was unable to keep up with Silphymon's speed, leaving Lady Devimon to handle the brunt of the attack. 

As they fought, Yolei went over and grabbed Motimon. Kari helped Izzy, dragging him clear of the fight, and leading Scizor away too. The bug pokemon hated leaving a battle, but recognized that his wounds were too severe to be able to fight effectively. As they moved, a red whip cracked in front of them. 

"Going somewhere?" Arukenimon taunted. "Don't think we've forgotten about you." 

The four beings tensed. Scizor, the only one who could possibly fight, was barely able to stand. Kari and Yolei had no chance, and Izzy was still unconscious. Still, Scizor had to try. With an effort, he stood up, facing Arukenimon. 

"Please. Acid Mist!" Scizor saw the opening, and launched one final attack. Standing he extended his wings and started to spin, drawing the acid towards him. For a second, Kari thought Scizor was trying to use Swords Dance to repel it, but had botched it somehow. Then, she saw how Scizor's wings were angled. 

"Yolei! Get down!" Kari pushed Izzy down, giving Scizor room to use his attack. Yolei hit the ground as well, covering Motimon, as Scizor finished his move. 

"Razor Wind!" The attack, forcing Arukenimon's attack along with it, hit Arukenimon head on. The spider screamed in agony as her own acid burned her, forcing her back. Utterly spent, Scizor collapsed, having thrown all his energy into the attack. 

"Scizor," Silphymon called, seeing the bug's attack. 

"S...Steel beats...acid." Scizor's voice was starting to smooth out, but the fatigue and pain in his voice were all too apparent now. 

"You're fighting me," Lady Devimon snarled. "Darkness Wave!" 

Silphymon dodged the attack, and used Gatomon's pent up anger to simply punch the fallen angel in the gut. "You will never, EVER, hurt my friends again!" Each word was punctuated by another strike. The DNA digimon's final blow knocked Lady Devimon back into a wall, leaving a good sized imprint in it, hinting at the force of the blow. Still conscious, the fallen angel charged up another attack, as did Silphymon. 

"Darkness Wave!" 

"Astral Laser!" 

== 

"The portal's opening," Ken yelled. "Get back!" 

As the digidestined watched, the portal formed in the air, a swirling portal of darkness. Other than its size, it resembled the portal that Sneasel had opened back in Shogungeckomon's village. That, and the volume of smoke and flying debris coming through it. 

"Kari," Tai yelled, heading towards the portal. Agumon stood by him, ready to fight off any deep ones that came through. 

What did come through was Yolei. In the explosion, she had lost her glasses and the hat that appeared when she entered the digital world; her hair cascaded around her, dirty and tangled. In her arms was Motimon. "Don't worry," she gasped, stepping into the group. "Everyone else is just behind me, I think. We got a bit split up when those attacks collided." 

Next out was Silphymon, supporting Scizor, still limping and barely conscious. Kyle ran over and put the bug pokemon in his pokeball. Just behind Silphymon was Kari, who was helping Izzy out the same way Silphymon had assisted Scizor. Tai ran over and helped her with Izzy, then, once the boy was laid down on the ground, hugged his sister and promised that he would never, ever let this happen again. The newest DNA digimon was introduced, and Baihumon, reverting to his true form (big white tiger. *Really* big), gave Kyle a lift to the nearest portal so he could get Scizor to a pokemon center. June promised to catch up with him, and Kari and Yolei promised to visit the next day. 

==Dark Ocean 

Lady Devimon staggered out of the wreckage. Snarling, she glowed and reverted to Sneasel. "Those twists are....rrrr!" 

Behind her, Arukenimon staggered out as well. She was still in her spider form, and one of her arms hung loosely at her side. "Well, that went well." Not appreciating the black humour, Sneasel glared back at Arukenimon. 

"I'd have had them if they hadn't been able to DNA digivolve like that." 

"Well don't blame me!" Arukenimon returned Sneasel's glare. "Why didn't you destroy that boy before he could free Kari?" 

"You know my powers don't work as well against human opponents!" 

"Actually, no, I didn't. That was the first time I've seen you digivolve to Lady Devimon, so what's REALLY the story?" 

"Enough." Demon walked in, surveying the damage and the two servants before him. "I have to admit, those kids managed to surprise even me. Where's Dagomon?" 

Sneasel looked over her shoulder. "His 'loyal attendants' are dragging his worthless carcass out now." As she spoke, several dozen Deep Ones laboured to bring Dagomon out of the room, struggling to save their 'master'. As Sneasel watched, some of the Deep Ones were absorbed into Dagomon's body, aiding in his regeneration. 

Demon's eyes narrowed. "Hmm. Much as I enjoy a good fight, I suppose an example must be made. Can't have everyone thinking they can just come in and trash the place." 

==Human world 

That night, Kari rested, Salamon beside her. However, images of the torment that Demon had inflicted on her still tugged at her mind, keeping her from sleeping peacefully. A faint noise woke the girl up. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she watched as the pale blue aura that had appeared in her room resolved into Mewtwo. 

"My greeting, Kari Kamiya." Mewtwo bowed. 

"How did..?" 

"Gennai told me what happened, and said I might be able to help somewhat." 

"But you can't take it away, can you?" 

Mewtwo shook his head, impressed by the insight of the girl. "No. Your mind would resist such an attempt, no matter how well intentioned. And to remove or suppress such an experience may do more harm than good. I can...place it in context, if you will allow me." 

"I don't understand." 

"The images Demon threw at you played on the fears and doubts that existed in your mind already; do not be ashamed about it. Indeed, that you lasted so long is a credit to your willpower." 

Kari nodded. "Why are you doing this?" 

"It was Baihumon's idea that I do this, yet I sense there may be a deeper reason for his actions than simple altruism. But it is your well being that is important now. Rest, and I will keep the nightmares at bay." Kari nodded again, and fell back asleep. As she rested, Mewtwo traced the chains of memory that Demon's influence had tried to corrupt, reminding the girl of what she already knew and that no evil force could ever take away. 

==Digital World 

Baihumon examined the large stone, trying to discern what had happened. There had been a drain of its energy, that much was clear. But by who was still a mystery. So intent was he on the stone, he missed the materialization of another human. This one, old, walking with a cane, eyes apparently closed, walked up to the guardian. 

"Hey, cat," Gennai said. "You awake in there?" 

Baihumon looked around. "I must be getting old. It's as we feared. While Kari was being kidnapped, something drained some of the power out of this destiny stone." 

Gennai nodded. "Thought so. Any idea who?" 

"No. And I'm scared." 

Next Episode 

The digidestined take a day off, after the tremendous stress they faced. Kyle checks up on Scizor, Ken and Yolei talk, and Izzy deals with how he feels about Kari. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross-   
'Friendships renewed.' 


	20. Calm Between Storms

Digimon Digicross episode 19   
'Calm between the storms' 

==Tokyo 

"I haven't got a clue." 

"Come on, Sora, what should I do?" 

It was Monday afternoon, and Kari had visited Sora, hoping to get some advice on how to deal with how Izzy felt about her. "Look, Kari, just because I have the crest of Love doesn't make me an expert or anything." 

"It's not that, it's just that you and Tai...well, you know..." 

Sora chuckled lightly. "Don't ask me how it happened. We were friends even before we went to the digital world four years ago. I guess being through all that brought us closer together. Or something like that." 

Kari sighed. "I just wish I knew what to do. I like him, yeah, but I don't know if I feel that way about him." 

"Look, Kari, you're only 11, and I don't think Izzy's about to drag you off to Paris and marry you." Sora arched an eyebrow as she saw Kari blush a bit. "What about that concert he took you to. How did he act?" 

"He was nice. He was a little jumpy, I guess." 

== 

Outside Sora's room, Tai leaned closer to the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. Unnoticed by him, Sora's mom saw Tai listening. She briefly considered removing Tai, but thought better. Quietly, she stepped outside and dialed her home phone. 

== 

"Look, you've known Izzy a long time, and even if he did do something really dumb, you've got all of us to help you out." The phone rang, and Sora picked up the phone in her room. She listened for a few minutes, said "is that so?", and quietly hung up. Then she looked at the door to her room. "Just follow my lead." she whispered. 

"Who?" Kari whispered, but Sora stopped her, evil grin appearing. 

"Of course," Sora said, getting up and walking slowly to the door, "Izzy does have a lot going for him. I mean, someone that smart and cute doesn't come along that often." 

"Really?" Kari asked, catching on. 

"Oh, yes." Sora sighed. "Tai's cute, but I've always thought me and Izzy would wind up together." 

"Oh, no!" Kari said, feigning shock. "What will I tell Tai?" 

"Anything you want." Sora replied. "Just the thought of running my hand through that short red hair makes me shiver. And the way he kisses." 

"No!" Kari said. 

"Yes." She replied, finally reaching the door to her room. "He said he got it all from the internet." Wrapping a hand around the doorknob, she slowly twisted it, moving back a bit so she could open the door. "Isn't that right, Tai?" As she said that, she yanked the door open, causing Tai to fall into her room, flat on his face. 

"TAI!" Kari yelled. She had been half expecting Davis. 

"Umm, hi Kari. Mom was worried about you?" he tried. 

"I called her before I left." 

"I meant dad? Grandma?" Tai looked at Sora and Kari. "I'm in big trouble, aren't I?" 

==Stone Town Pokemon Center. 

Kari's kidnapping had happened on Friday, and had not been resolved until Saturday. In that time, Scizor had suffered heavily, from battling several opponents without any time to recover in between those fights. After getting Scizor checked in, Nurse Joy had ushered Kyle out, and told him to wait until Monday to check back. 

Kyle was in the waiting area when Nurse Joy came out. "Well, you're back. Honestly Kyle, I thought you were a better trainer than this! It looks like your Scizor's been battling for several hours straight, without any time to rest or heal." 

"Well, he was, but it wasn't like that!" 

"I don't care! A pokemon trainer's responsibility is to his pokemon. If he can't take care of them-" The sound of the door to the operating room caught her attention, and she turned around to see who was coming out. She stopped when she saw who had come out. 

"It's not his fault." Scizor said. 

Nurse Joy blinked, not believing what she was seeing or hearing. "It's...not?" 

"Picked a fight with a Sneasel." 

Kyle looked concernedly at Scizor. He hadn't heard what had happened while Scizor was in the Dark Ocean. "And?" 

"She got stomped on by Silphymon." Scizor staggered, causing Kyle to run over and help the pokemon up. 

The main doors opened. "I'm sure that must be a very interesting story." a male voice said, hint of age in his voice. 

Kyle looked at the source. There were two people there, both male. One looked old, with grey hair and tanned skin. The other was about his age, dressed in a green shirt and shorts, hair held back by a headband. "You're..." he breathed, unable to believe who he was talking to. 

"Professor Samuel Oak at your service. This is my assistant, Tracey. Nurse Joy contacted me concerning some unusual things she found out about your Scizor. May I talk to you and your pokemon? I understand Scizor's not the only pokemon that can speak human." 

==Digital World, near Primary village. 

Yolei and Hawkmon walked towards the wreckage of the Digimon Emperor's base. She had heard Ken had come here earlier today, and decided to track the boy down and find out why he hadn't called her. 

"Why are we here, anyway?" Hawkmon asked. "Couldn't you just call him? You did give him a portable phone, after all." 

"It's not that simple." Yolei replied. Reining in her temper, she continued, "I just need to talk to him, that's all." Hawkmon shrugged, and followed Yolei. 

Outside the base, they found Wormmon, Ryo and Charmeleon. "Hey, Yolei, right? Let me guess, you're looking for Ken." 

"Yeah, have you seen him?" 

Charmeleon nodded. "He's inside. He wanted to get some stuff out of here before we linked up and blew the place off the map." 

Ryo nodded. "It's probably for the best, letting go of the past and all that. He went in the door at the sand level." 

Yolei looked at the base. "I don't remember there being a door there." 

Wormmon shrugged. "Charmeleon said it was 'spontaneous redecoration.'" 

"Thanks. Hawkmon, could you wait here?" 

"I beg your pardon? It could be dangerous in there." 

"It's fine." Ryo said. "We'll keep an eye on Hawkmon, you go in." Yolei nodded, and headed down to the abandoned base. "Back just over a week, and he's already got a girlfriend." 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hawkmon replied, mock offended. "Just because she talks about him all the time, wonders why he never calls her back, I think it's perfectly normal behavior for her." 

"That bad?" Charmeleon asked. 

"She called him an 'evil cute guy' once." Hawkmon replied flatly. 

==Tokyo, Izumi home. 

"Why hello Kari. Izzy's in his room, did you want to talk to him?" 

Kari nodded. "Thanks, I do. Is that all right?" 

"Sure. The poor boy's been in such a state lately." Mrs. Izumi leaned close to Kari, saying "just try to keep it down, all right?" Izzy's mother was rewarded with the image of Kari blushing bright pink. 

"It's not like that!" 

Izzy's mom laughed. "I know, I know. Let an old lady have a little fun now and then." After giving Kari a minute to recover, she showed the girl to Izzy's room. "If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen." Kari nodded, and entered. 

In Izzy's room, she saw Izzy and Tentomon staring at the computer screen; neither of them noticed Kari's entrance. Kari walked closer, and saw that the two partners were playing chess. Looking over Izzy's shoulder, she laughed when she saw that the chess pieces were replaced by digimon. 

Izzy jumped, startled by Kari's laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you enter!" 

"It's all right," Kari replied, "I didn't want to disturb you. Does Gomamon know you made him a pawn?" 

"I was...short of ideas." Starting to panic, Izzy started babbling. "Y'see, I was tinkering with the Battlechess program when-" 

"Izzy," Kari said gently, "stop." She looked at Tentomon. "Could I talk to Izzy?" 

"Sure." Tentomon said, not moving. After a second, he got it. "Oh, you mean privately. Well, I guess Gatomon will have to hear it from someone else." Tentomon flew out the door. 

"So that's how Gatomon keeps finding stuff out." Kari said, resolving to have a little talk with her partner about privacy and gossip. And not telling her any of the good stuff. "I just wanted to talk to you about, well...how I feel about you." 

Izzy lowered his head, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I must seem like some sort of creep or something. But I didn't know how to tell you, you have to believe that!" 

"I know." Izzy stopped, looked at Kari. "When you were trying to pull me out of that vortex to the Dark Ocean, I saw it in your eyes. You really do care about me, I can tell that." Kari paused, collecting herself for what she had to say next. "Look, Izzy, I'm only 11, I don't know if I'm ready to feel...that way...about someone else yet." She saw Izzy start looking depressed. "Of course, when I'm a bit older, maybe we could...go out somewhere?" 

Izzy looked up. "I'd like that." he said quietly. 

Kari smiled. "Good. I could use a dance partner at the Halloween dance on Friday." 

Izzy blinked, caught off guard. "But..I thought..." 

"Silly. I'll be three days older by then. You don't think that's enough?" Kari started laughing as Izzy fell over backwards, lying face up on his bed. 

==Pokemon world 

Professor Oak had taken Scizor back into the recovery room, saying he wanted to do a full examination of the pokemon. Kyle and Tracey waited outside, and the two swapped tales of their travels. 

"You saw Lugia?" Kyle asked incredulously. 

"You bet." Tracey replied. "Remember that big weather disturbance a while back? That was when it happened. Some guy was trying to capture Lugia and the three legendary birds for his collection. If it wasn't for Ash, we might not even be here." 

Kyle caught the name. "Ash? Yay high, black hair, has a Pikachu with him?" Tracey nodded. "Wow. I ran into him in Olivine City. I think he was planning to head out to the Whirl Islands." 

"What were you doing in the Johto region?" 

"Fighting a giant digimon." Growlithe said. Kyle had released the two digital pokemon he had and introduced them to Tracey. The two pokemon related the battle to Tracey, who listened attentively. 

"A whole world of creatures like pokemon. I'd do almost anything to go there; the other pokemon watchers would flip if I could bring some sketches back." 

"Well," Kyle said, "you really need to have one of these to get in." Kyle showed Tracey his D-3. "They're called digivices, and they only work for the person they're sent to." 

"Hey, Kyle." Growlithe said to his trainer. "Maybe we could show him something." 

"Huh? You mean your armour form?" Growlithe nodded. "Sure, why not." Kyle looked around. There was no one else there. "OK, Tracey, watch this. Digi-armour energize!" 

"Growlithe, armour digivolve to...Cyberarcanine, the strength of Loyalty!" 

"I...I don't believe it.." Tracey breathed. "He evolved...and it's not permanent, is it?" Kyle shook his head. "This is...Just hold that pose!" Tracey started drawing a picture of Cyberarcanine. 

Professor Oak watched the digivolution, stunned at what he saw. "It seems all the old theories on evolution will have to be rewritten." He turned back to Scizor. "Now, let's see how you're different from other pokemon." 

"Does it really matter?" Scizor asked. 

"Yes. No offense, but you are unique in many ways. If pokemon continue to interact with the digital world, I would like to know if there are any potential side effects. For example, did you know that you are unusually light for a Scizor of your size?" 

"Huh?" 

"Yes. By almost 70 pounds. And for some reason, you are able to fly as well, an ability that many Scizors lose when they evolve. Not far or very fast, granted, but it's something that should be noted. And I found this in your exoskeleton." Professor oak displayed a pair of molecules on a nearby computer screen. "The molecule on the left is common to most steel type pokemon. But your skin has this element as well; in a way, your Steel element has become alloyed with this new metal. It would explain your lighter weight and greater resistance to damage." 

"It's Chron-digizoid." Baihumon said, appearing behind Professor Oak. 

The professor jumped, whirled around and stared at the newcomer. 

"You." Scizor said. "You're that guardian of the digital world, the big tiger guy." 

Baihumon smiled, bowed. "Baihumon, eastern guardian, at your service. I figured you could use an expert on digimon, Professor Oak. Kyle will vouch for me, if he's done showing off to your assistant..." 

==Digital World 

Yolei wandered around the wreckage of Ken's base. "Wow. We really did a number on this place." She remembered the fight, and winced a bit remembering Stingmon's sacrifice. "I wonder where Ken is?" She wandered a bit more, then heard a low moan, coming from ahead. 

Running up a hallway, she found an open door and saw Ken, lying on the bed. He was asleep, a small bag beside him on his bed packed with some things that she couldn't make out. Ken turned every few seconds, apparently gripped in some form of nightmare. 

"Ken? Ken, wake up!" Yolei shook Ken, trying to wake him up. After a second, Ken sat upright, unaware he grabbed Yolei's arm as he did so. 

"Sam, I'm sorry..." Ken stopped, aware of his surrounding again. And that he had grabbed onto something. Realizing he had a tight grip on Yolei's arm, he let go as quickly as he had grabbed, blushing and apologizing at the same time. 

"It's all right." Yolei said, massaging the arm Ken had grabbed. Strong grip, she noted. "You were having a nightmare. It was your brother again, wasn't it?" 

"You knew...?" 

"Wormmon told us. When Ryo showed up at Digitamamon's diner." Yolei's expression softened. "You miss him a lot, don't you." 

Ken straightened up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "I hated him sometimes." he said hoarsely. "He was always the center of attention, and then I wished he'd just go away...and he did..." Ken began shaking. 

Yolei put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm Ken down. Looking around, she noticed the edge of a picture frame in the bag on Ken's bed. With her other hand, she pulled the picture out. Ken saw what she was doing, but wasn't able to stop her. "This is him, isn't it? Sam?" Ken nodded. My God, she thought. Is this where Ken got the idea for his Emperor outfit? 

"I shouldn't have come back." 

"That's a stupid thing to say." Yolei said. Ken looked at her, startled. "Hey, you can't ignore what happened in the past, and you can't go on beating up yourself for things you thought. You think you're alone? I've got three older brothers, I think I can relate a bit to how you feel." 

"I-" 

"OK, you made a mistake. A huge one, granted. OK, a couple...." Yolei trailed off. "I'm not really good at this. Look, you're not alone, all right?" 

"I'm not?" 

"Hel-LO! I gave you that phone, didn't I? You could have called any of us, any time! Why didn't you?" 

Ken looked at his feet. "I was ashamed. I didn't deserve-" 

"Oh, for...you're one of us now! Listen, I can assure you, we're not about to string you up! You can trust me. Us, I mean us!" Yolei tried to rein in her temper. "Just...talk to us once in a while, please?" 

Ken nodded. "All right." he said quietly. 

"It was an invitation, not a death sentence!" Ken flinched at Yolei's tone. "I'm sorry. I just get a little...emotional at times, you know?" 

Ken looked at the photo of his older brother. "Yeah. A little." 

10 minutes later, Ken, Yolei, Hawkmon, and Ryo watched as Dino Beemon tore the base apart. Ryo didn't say anything, but he did grin a bit when he saw Yolei take Ken's hand as the base began to collapse in on itself. 

After the base was leveled, Dino Beemon landed and split into Leafmon and Charmander. "That's it," the pokemon said, "I'm exhausted. You'd better use Fearow for a ride back to the portal. Should be room for all of us." 

"Actually, I think I'll walk." Ryo said. "I need to stretch my legs a bit. 'Sides, I want to see Primary Village. I think Magby should have some time to play with digimon his age." Ryo walked off. As he did, he whispered to Ken "don't do anything I wouldn't do." and fought the urge to cackle as Ken's face went crimson. 

"Perhaps I should digivolve." Hawkmon offered. "You two don't look up to walking that far." Hawkmon looked at Ken as he spoke. Yolei nodded, and Hawkmon digivolved to Aquilamon. 

==Tuesday (again after school) 

"I'm telling you, it'd be perfect!" Davis said, excited. 

"Do you know how long it would take for that?" TK replied. 

"What?" Davis replied. "I just think it'd be neat if we went as our digimon! I already have a Flamedramon outfit ready to go! And you'd look good as Angemon." 

"I suppose I could go as Shurimon." Yolei hazarded. "But I think mom might object to the throwing star motif." 

"What about me?" Cody asked. "None of Armadillomon's forms is really human compatible. I could do Digmon, I guess, but there's not enough time to make a costume." 

"Well, I could go as Angewomon." Kari said, teasing. Davis and TK colored a bit. 

"But how would you see through that faceplate?" Cody asked. Kari began to snicker. 

Yolei sighed. "It's not the faceplate she's talking about." More laughs, from Davis and TK. 

"But I don't...oh" Cody replied, blushing as he remembered Angewomon's outfit (or lack thereof). 

"Yolei, you're corrupting him." Kari laughed. "Anyway, I don't think I could put Tai through that." 

"Yes you could." TK replied. 

"I got it!" Davis exclaimed. He explained his idea to the rest of the group. 

"You realize that no one else would get it. Except maybe their close friends." Kari said, although the idea did appeal to her. 

"And we'd have to get a picture of this later. Mimi would kill me if I didn't send her one." Yolei added. "It's got my vote." 

"It's settled then. We just need to divide up who's going to go as who." 

==Pokemon World, same day. 

"I must say, this is very interesting." Professor Oak said to Baihumon. The two had spent much of yesterday and today discussing the differences between pokemon, digimon, and how the two species had interacted. "So some pokemon are able to evolve at will, and return to their lower forms, once they've been exposed to the digital world?" 

Baihumon nodded. "Yes, but not every one of the pokemon Kyle or Ryo has brought with them has been effected, or in the same way. Eevee, Growlithe, and Charmeleon all gained the ability to digivolve, Scizor here's been only slightly affected, and the rest...well, I've seen no real effect. I'm confused as you are." 

"You said these digidestined children had an extremely strong link to their partner digimon. Could that have something to do with it?" 

"I suppose. I've noticed Kyle is particularly close to Growlithe and Eevee, of all his pokemon. And Ryo was close to Charmander when he went to the digital world." Baihumon got up, started pacing around the room. "Willpower is one of the main forces in the digital world. It could be that when they first came to the digital world, their closeness to their pokemon was read by the digital world as a compatible link." 

Oak closed his eyes. "And then there's Sneasel." 

Baihumon winced. "I honestly didn't know until Kyle told me. That's what's got me terrified. Can you imagine the kind of terror if they created another digimon emperor from a trainer here? Some of those Team Rocket thugs would be nothing short of murder to both worlds." 

Oak shook his head. "It's possible, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Giovanni isn't the type who likes competition, especially competition that's stronger than himself." 

Baihumon blinked. "You know about him?" 

"'Know', yes. Have evidence to convict him on, no. He's very slippery these days, since his gym and his lab were destroyed. How did you know about Team Rocket?" 

"Mutual friend. I should get him to go to the authorities..." 

==Human World, same time (approximately.) 

"So, what did we miss?" Kyle asked, as he walked into Davis's room. June and TK were there as well. 

"Just setting a few things up for Halloween. You see, we have this holiday at the end of this month-" 

"We have Halloween on our world," Kyle said, "and Christmas, New Years, Boy's Day, Girl's Day, in fact, most of the major holidays you have, we have. And I've said this how many times now?" 

"Four, but who's counting?" Davis said without blinking. "Ryo coming?" 

Kyle shook his head. "He said something about practicing for something, but we'd know about it on the 30th. So, what's the emergency?" 

June answered. "Davis actually managed to have a good idea for once." she said, cheerfully ignoring her brother's glare. She went on to describe Davis' plan to Kyle, TK adding in a few comments as she did so. 

"Cute, I think the others will crack when they see it. That kind of leaves me out, though." 

"It doesn't matter, I'm in a different school, remember?" June said. "Though I'm sure Davis could get us in if it's that important. We could go as a bride and groom, if you want." 

"No. You're. Not." Davis growled. TK was doubled over, laughing silently, more at Kyle's reaction than Davis'. 

==Friday, late afternoon. October 30th 

Tai stood in the living room, waiting for his sister to get back. He had agreed to go with her as a chaperone to the dance, despite her protests that she and Izzy would be just fine on their own (which made Tai all the more determined to go along). Sora was there as well. Davis had managed to talk the teacher into letting Tai and Sora (when she got here with Kari) into the dance. Matt would be there as well; the principal had asked his band to play at the dance. 

There was a knock at the door. "About time." Tai said, walking to the door and opening it. A part of him prayed that Kari didn't go through on her threat to go as Angewomon. His father, who had seen the angel digimon once, shared Tai's opinion. "So, Kari are you ready...."Tai trailed off, confused by Kari's outfit. 

She was wearing a sleeveless yellow shirt, gloves, blue jeans, and a blue visorless cap. He knew the outfit was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Beside Kari, Sora walked into view. "So Tai, what do you think?" 

The memory clicked into place. "You're going as Sora?" Tai asked, stunned. 

Kari nodded. "It was Davis' idea. It felt a bit weird, but I think I like it." 

"I'm so glad." Sora said. "It looks good on you. But, there's one more you just have to see." Fighting back her laughter, Sora said, "OK, Izzy. Come on over." 

"I don't want to." Izzy said, out of Tai's sight. "I feel silly." 

"I think you look adorable." Sora called. "Now be a man and get over here." 

Izzy sighed. "OK, but promise not to laugh." Izzy walked into view, and Tai knew he couldn't keep his promise. Blue short sleeved T-shirt, shorts, white gloves, somehow he had even gotten a blue headband and goggles. It was Tai's outfit from his first trip to the digital world. Tai cracked up on the doorstep. 

==School gym. 

Matt looked over the growing crowd of students. "Place hasn't changed one bit. Surprised how many monster costumes there are." 

TK walked up behind Matt. "Well, they were here when Myotismon showed up. I guess some of it stuck." 

Matt turned around. "Yeah, I guess. So I guess you came as Angemon..." Matt looked at his little brother, not believing what he saw. "Dude, you're going as Izzy?" Indeed, TK was dressed as Izzy was during his first trip to the digital world. He even had the laptop backpack. "OK, now that's just weird, even for us. Kari's idea?" 

TK shook his head. "Nope. Davis'. You should see who he came as." TK looked through the curtains, spotted Davis, and pointed him out to Matt." 

"Probably went as Tai. That kid just...." Matt blinked, then looked again, making sure he really did see what he thought he saw. "Did I really look like that four years ago?" He looked again. "OK, that's got to be Yolei going as Mimi, there's Kari as Sora, and...OK, Cody going as you is cute, I'll admit it. But who's that dressed...as...." Matt began laughing. "Is that Izzy...?" 

"Yep. Davis loaned him the goggles for effect." 

"What about Joe?" TK smiled, and pointed to another figure by Yolei. "OK, I can just about make him...KEN?" Matt stepped back from the curtain. "I'm going to go back and practice before the dance, this is getting surreal now. We have a new member to the band to break in." 

"Oh? Who?" TK asked. 

"Me." Ryo said, walking in. "Matt said his drummer was moving out, so I offered to fill in." 

"You know drums?" 

"What, you thought I just battled pokemon all the time? I do have a life outside the arena." 

10 minutes later, the dance started. Fun was had by one and all, and a lot of the teachers caught onto the digidestineds' costume theme, and enjoyed it. Ryo did a decent job of drumming, too. For everyone, the night was fairly peaceful, even enjoyable. 

==Dark Ocean 

Dagomon writhed as Demon sent more blasts of energy through his body. He was forced to watch as his Deep Ones were sacrificed, the energy released on their deaths slamming into his system. It boosted his power, but also did severe damage to his body. 

"You failed me for the last time, Dagomon." Demon said. "Your Deep Ones failed twice, twice, to capture the child carrying the crest of light. They also permitted a pokemon to beat them, rescue that same child that Sneasel caught, freed her friends, and did untold damage to my castle." 

"And, my old servant, you are no longer needed. Now that I have managed to create spires here in the Dark Ocean without Ken's assistance, there is no longer a need for you or your pathetic Deep Ones." 

"M...master, please!" Dagomon shouted, barely coherent. 

"I am not without mercy, Dagomon." Demon said evenly. "Once your body has assimilated the energy from your Deep Ones, I shall release you into the Pokemon World, well away from the usual range of operations of the digidestined of that world. Once there, you will fight and destroy as much of the area as you can. Survive, and you may remain in my service. Fail, and...well, do try to take a few legendary pokemon with you, please? After the digimon and digital pokemon, they are the next largest threat." Demon sighed. "'Scubamon', please. That's an execution in itself." 

==31st, Human World 

Ken leaned back on his bed. "So, how was the dance?" Minomon asked, hanging from the ceiling. 

"I liked it." Ken admitted. "I wasn't expecting to, but I actually did have fun." It was especially nice to see Ryo there. 

"That's good. Hawkmon was worried you wouldn't go. I think Yolei likes you." 

Ken blinked. "That's not funny, Minomon. What's there about me to like?" 

Minomon was about to answer when Ken's mom called from the kitchen. "Ken, there's someone at the door, could you get it? I think it's some trick or treaters!" 

"Here?" Ken got up, grateful for the distraction. "Why would anyone come here?" Ken grabbed the candy bowl and walked over to the door. Opening it, he said "I'm sorry I don't have a costume on, I-" He blinked. Flamedramon, Veemon, Marowak, and Armadillomon were there, carrying Halloween bags? 

"Well, you going to give us something or not?" Davis' voice said from behind the Flamedramon mask. "You're not dressed up, so we should get double, right?" 

"I'm not dressed up either, Davis." Veemon said. "What happens to me?" 

Ken was stunned. Two of the digidestined were here? He looked at the person in the Marowak costume, trying to figure out who he was. Armadillomon's presence made it easy. "Cody?" 

The skull mask lifted up, revealing Cody's face. "Trick or treat, Ken?" 

Next Episode   
Oikawa's fate is revealed, and Canadian digidestined Stuart and his partner Monodramon take an interesting trip to the Big Apple. Next on Digimon Digicross:   
'Love and Sleep Powder!' 


	21. Love and Sleep Powder

Digimon Digicross Episode 20   
'Love and Sleep Powder!'   
==Pokemon World, Celadon City   
  
Officer Jenny looked up and saw Nurse Joy walk out of the Celadon Hospital, concern on her face. "So, how's our mystery patient doing?"   
  
"Well, he's awake now, but there's no sign of his memory returning."   
  
"How long was he like this for? It might help when I go through the missing persons reports. Again." Jenny mock sighed, getting a small smile from Nurse Joy.   
  
"He was found a few weeks ago near Viridian City. At first, we thought he was attacked, but nothing we know could have caused the damage his body suffered." At Jenny's inquiring look, Joy went on. "All of his internal organs suffered some form of damage. It looked like he was exposed to some sort of energy for a long period of time, but there's nothing on file that could do that to a human and not kill him outright. It's a miracle he was alive at all."   
  
Jenny nodded. "And now?"   
  
"He's off life support and recovering, slowly. He has no memories whatsoever, not even a name. There is..."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"Well, he was being taken through the garden area behind the hospital when an Oddish appeared. Nothing new, there's a small family of grass pokemon nearby. But when the patient saw it, it was like he remembered something, then it faded. Could he have been a pokemon trainer?" Jenny shrugged, prompting Joy to continue. "Anyway, we decided to have a few pokemon brought to his room, to see if anything triggers his memory. I've also contacted a specialist, who should be here in a day or two who might be able to help."   
  
Jenny cocked her head, curious. "I thought all the best psychologists were here already."   
  
"Her specialty's a bit different. I put a call in to Sabrina from Saffron City. She said she and her Abra have had a bit of luck in similar cases, if only to a lesser extent."   
  
Jenny pondered all this. "I guess it's worth a try. Could I have a picture? I have a cousin in Stone Town who might be able to help us with this. She said we should be on the lookout for anything unusual."   
  
==Human World, Newfoundland   
  
Stuart looked at the email message again. "Are you sure about this, Monodramon?"   
  
Monodramon nodded his head. "Sure I'm sure. This has Wizzy's fingerprints all over it. He just gets off on being all mysterious and foreboding sometimes."   
  
"Yeah, but an email message to come to a certain IRC room at a certain time of day, sent just to me? How could he have known I got a digimon? Much less you?"   
  
"Ah, Stuart? Hello? He's a WIZARD, maybe?" Monodramon shook his head. "Relax. Besides, I'm eager to see how he's gotten on here in the real world. Log in already, they're probably waiting."   
  
"All right, all right." Stuart switched on the computer, calling up the appropriate programs when it had finished booting. "Glad dad got that DSL link." he muttered, telling the iMac to run the IRC program. "Really should register that." After a few seconds, the window came up, reporting that Stuart was logged in   
  
*** Welcome to irc.nyNET.com Channel #monster_tamers   
*** logged in as Gullwhacker   
*** Topic: 'So a monster came through your computer Screen: for dummies! :-)'   
*** Users on #monster_tamers: Gullwhacker, +Set_Kame, @BetaVHS, @Lilly-com, +Tek_Geek, Prima   
** Mode Change '+Prima +Gullwhacker' on channel #digi_tamers by BetaVHS   
  
Stuart ran through the names. Nothing looked familiar. "Monodramon, do all these people have Digimon?"   
  
"Maybe. One sec." Monodramon hopped up on Stuart's lap and began typing.   
  
[Gullwhacker] {Monodramon} Hey Wizzy? YOu out there?   
  
"Stupid sticky shift key." Monodramon grumbled   
  
[Set_Kame] {Wizardmon} -.- Yes, Monodramon, I am here.   
  
Lilly-com is ROTFL   
  
[Prima] 'Wizzy'?   
  
[Gullwhacker] {Monodramon} Long story about a short, short 'mon.   
  
[Set_Kame] I BEG your pardon? We are trying to be serious   
  
[BetaVHS] OK guys, let's be serious for a sec. If that's even possible on IRC -.-; Intros, mayhap?   
  
[Gullwhacker] Sure.   
  
[Prima] 'Kayz  
  
[Tek_Geek] I'll start. My name's Izzy, I'm in Japan, and my digimon partner is Tentomon. And I've been at this for some time now. Right, Lilly-com ;-)   
  
[Lilly-com] Everyone: If you don't want to say where/who you are, that's OK. We're just trying to figure out who has a digimon. Oh, I'm Mimi, my partner's Palmon, I was in Japan, but now I'm in New York.   
  
[BetaVHS] Same here :-) Michael, I'm also in New York. My partner's Betamon   
Prima gets the joke   
  
[Prima] That's sick, Michael. Just sick. Caryl, in NZ (New Zealand), my partner's Renamon.   
  
[Set_Kame] Seth, Midwest America, my partner's Wizardmon. But you probably guessed that :-)   
  
[Prima] So, why are all the digimon coming here?   
  
[Tek_Geek] Renamon? Never heard of that one.   
  
[Set_Kame] Wizardmon says something bad is gonna happen, and they need all the partners they can find to help. Oh, we're supposed to be 'digidestined'?   
  
BetaVHS nods   
  
[Gullwhacker] [Venkman] I'm a bit fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing..   
  
[Tek_Geek] I'll explain...   
  
Stuart read Izzy's explanation of the Dark Ocean, eyes widening as he did so. "We've got to fight THAT?"   
  
"Ah, don't worry about it." Monodramon gave Stuart a cocky grin. "Izzy and Mimi went to the Digital World a few years ago. I think it allows them to make every little thing all doom and gloom. 'Sides," he went on, "you got me. Anyone comes near, I'll take care of 'em!" Stuart sighed, and turned back to the chat room.   
  
[Prima] Yeah, Renamon's a really cool Digimon. She's really pretty, too.   
  
[Gullwhacker] {Monodramon} Really?   
  
[Set_Kame] {Wizardmon} Rein it in, Monodramon. You're just miffed that you   
never got Gatomon's address.   
  
[Lilly-com] {Palmon} Great. A digimon with 'Brock-itis' :-/   
  
[Prima] eish?  
  
[Gullwhacker] ?   
  
[Set_Kame] ?   
  
[Tek_Geek] LONG story. I'll email it to you later, if you want. Shouldn't be a   
problem if you stay on this world, though.   
  
[Prima] This world?   
  
[Lilly-com] Another long story. Weird too, come to think of it. If we can ever drag Kyle on here, we'll introduce him. Ryo too, if we can manage it.   
  
[Tek_Geek] Good luck with Kyle ^_^;; Half the time he's here, he's with you know who...And Ryo's joined Matt's band, full time!   
  
[Set_Kame] Matt?   
  
[Lilly-com] Another digidestined.   
  
[Gullwhacker] Mimi? What part of NY are you in? I'm going to be there over the weekend.   
  
[Set_Kame] Lucky. I just moved out of there.   
  
Prima blinks  
  
[Prima] My cousin's a NYer! I'm trying to get her to invite me over there, I hear they have GREAT malls.  
  
Stuart read off the info, nodding. He would be practically next door. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves." he said to Monodramon. The dragon nodded eagerly.   
  
[BetaVHS] Long weekend? Touring NY can be a time eater.   
  
[Gullwhacker] [eg] Nahh...School got water damaged, closed for a week, they have to replace the office, computer lab, about 1/3 of the textbooks there.   
  
[Prima] LUCKY!   
  
[Gullwhacker] Not really. They're taking the time off our christmas vacation   
:-( TANSTAAFL.   
  
[BetaVHS] Quite (nods sagely)   
  
[Lilly-com] TANSTAAFL?   
  
[Tek_Geek] There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Didn't know you read Heinlein.   
  
[Gullwhacker] Needed to do a book report. Blew the teacher's mind away, I must say [eg]   
  
**Trollbait(xsdftbd@irc.shadowhold.spammer.org) has joined #Digi_Tamer   
  
[Trollbait] EVERTYING SUX! ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!   
  
*** Mode change "+b Trollbait! xsdftbd@irc.shadowhold.spammer.org" on #monster_tamers by BetaVHS  
  
*** Trollbait has been kicked off channel #monster_tamers by BetaVHS (Reason: Don't mess with the Op!)  
  
[BetaVHS] Sorry 'bout that. I'm getting sick of these guys.   
  
[Tek_Geek] Don't worry about it. You have no idea what I have to go through...   
  
The chat went on for another hour before everyone had to sign off. Stuart had a quick private chat with Mimi about when and where he would show up in NY, and where they could try to meet. "Looks like we're off to the big apple."   
  
Monodramon gave Stuart a thumbs-up. "Heh. Godzilla's got nothing on me!"   
  
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."   
  
==New Zealand   
  
Caryl closed the browser on her computer. "Wow. Digimon are all over the world. I wish we could meet them all."   
  
Beside her, Renamon stared affectionately at Caryl. "If what Wizardmon said is true, you may get your wish. Whatever happens, I will be there."   
  
"Only if I'm there with you!"   
  
Renamon smiled. "Of course."   
  
==Midwest America   
  
Seth watched as the other chatters signed off. "Well, that did a lot."   
  
"More than you might have expected." Wizardmon replied. "We now know where the other digidestined are. If the Dark Ocean attacks, we may be able to co-ordinate with others like us."   
  
"Makes sense." Seth leaned back in his chair. "'Wizzy'?"   
  
"Don't ask. Please?"   
  
==New York   
  
Mimi leaned back, sighing. "It'll be nice to meet one of the new digidestined. I hope it goes better than the last time I did something like this." Looking again at the computer screen, she saw an icon flashing. "Mail?" Clicking on it, Mimi opened the message, and read through it. "Matt's coming here? YES!"   
  
"Mimi?" came a voice from outside her room. "Is something wrong?"   
  
"Umm...no mom, everything's just fine!" Mimi quickly went to her door and closed it. "That was close. I wish I knew how I'm going to explain this to them."   
  
==Celadon Hospital, next day   
  
Sabrina, gym leader of Saffron City and psychic pokemon trainer, walked to the front desk. "Is Nurse Joy in?"   
  
"I'm sorry ma'am, the pokemon center is two blocks down that way." the attendant replied.   
  
"I was asked to come here," Sabrina replied evenly, "and was assured that Nurse Joy would be here to meet me."   
  
The attendant was about to reply when Nurse Joy entered the room. "Oh, Sabrina, I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. Someone brought a sick Grimer in."   
  
"Is that possible?"   
  
Nurse Joy smiled. "It is when they eat a bottle of liquid soap. Anyway, there's a person who had a major memory loss, and I was wondering if you could help."   
  
Sabrina frowned. "Popular myth to the contrary, it's not easy entering into another person's mind. Wouldn't a psychologist be better than me? Most people are uneasy around psychic trainers as it is."   
  
"I tried, but no one's had any luck. The man's a complete mystery; he doesn't exist anywhere. Not even Officer Jenny could turn up anything. It's as if he just appeared on our doorstep."   
  
"Well," Sabrina replied, "I can try, but it will take some time. And I must warn you, I may wind up doing more harm than good." Nurse Joy nodded, and led the gym leader to the patient in question.   
  
'Gaunt' was the first thing that came to Sabrina's mind when she saw him. Dark hair, slightly unkempt topped a face that looked...not right, to Sabrina's mind. She could feel something dark surrounding him. No, had surrounded him was more accurate. Sadness and obsession, too. Her eyes narrowed. "Do you know who I am?" she asked the patient. He shook his head. "I am Sabrina, a psychic pokemon trainer. Nurse Joy asked me to come in and try to help you regain your memories."   
  
"Will...will I know who I am again?" He sounded scared, Sabrina noted. Not that she could blame him.   
  
"Maybe. I have to warn you now, what I am about to attempt is not safe, nor is there a guarantee that I will be able to find anything." The patient nodded.   
  
"What I need you do do, then, is relax. This will take some time, and the fewer barriers I have to fight through, the better." Sabrina raised a hand before the patient could object. "I know, you won't willingly stop me. But the mind is a very tricky place to navigate, and there is often an unconcious reflex to block out intruders."   
  
"I understand. Thank you." The patient leaned back, relaxing as much as he could. Closing her eyes, Sabrina went to work.   
  
==New York   
Stuart wandered around, recalling the address he was supposed to meet Mimi and Michael at. In a somewhat oversized backpack, Monodramon waited, ocassionally looking out through the top (and giving Stuart a heart attack every time). "Now where is that place..." he wondered turning a corner-   
  
Stuart blinked. Girl, about his age, long, slender legs, white miniskirt, blue and pink striped shortsleeved shirt, pink hair with stars in it (odd, but he could get used to it), beautiful laugh-   
  
Both arms around another boy. Not a relative either. "Nuts." Stuart breathed, hoping no one caught him staring. In the backpack, Monodramon started struggling to get out. "Hey, what's up? You want to get spotted?"   
  
"There's a digimon nearby." Catching Stuart's incredulous gaze (Monodramon had his head out of the backpack by this point), he added, "Hey, would this nose lie?" With a brief struggle, he wormed out of the pack and took off.   
  
"Wait up!" Stuart almost shouted, not noticing he was headed for the couple he had noticed earlier. "Monodramon!" He ran past the couple, who had heard Stuart call the digimon's name. He skidded to stop at an alley, nearly falling over in the process, spotting his digimon. "Are you insane? What if-?" Stuart trailed off. Monodramon was talking...to a walking head of lettuce?   
  
"So, you new in town?" Monodramon said to Palmon, trying his best to be charming. Stuart grabbing the dragon by the ear and dragging him back broke the effect. "Stuart! Come on, you're cramping my style!"   
  
"Your style's going to get us in trouble!"   
  
Monodramon squirmed out of his grip. "What? I can't escort a cute Rookie digimon home?" He moved back towards Palmon. "Don't mind him, he's just jet lagged." As he spoke, a pair of green vines reached out and grabbed Monodramon, lifting him up. "Ulp." was all the dragon had to say.   
  
==Celadon Hospital   
  
Sabrina tried to relax. The first session she had with the patient had gone on for several hours. Only the physical needs of both of them had forced the two to stop. While the patient ate and rested, Sabrina went over what she found with Nurse Joy.   
  
"It's weird. The ability to actually erase memories is almost impossible; most human psychics lack the power to do so, even for a few minutes of recall. And even then, it requires a willing subject. As far as I know, such an ability has never appeared in any pokemon that I've encountered. Certainly not to the extent that would be needed for this."   
  
"What did you find?"   
  
"Very little. There was something in there, something very dark and powerful. It took almost everything from him, I'm sure of it."   
  
"Took it? You said..."   
  
Sabrina nodded. "I know what I said. And I am sure of what I sensed. Someone or something did this to him. There was something, a name, but I don't think it was his. 'Hiroki', that was it. There were creatures too, They looked like pokemon, but they weren't. I don't know if I can describe it."   
  
==New York   
  
After Matt had convinced Ivysaur to put Monodramon down, he and Mimi introduced themselves to Stuart.   
  
"I'm really sorry about that. I don't know why Monodramon acts like..."   
  
"A kid?" Matt asked. "It's nothing new. You should see Veemon sometime."   
  
Monodramon was staring at Ivysaur. "Hey, you're one of those pokemon I heard about, aren't you?" Ivysaur nodded, still standing between Monodramon and Palmon.   
  
"Pokemon?"   
  
"They're a bit like Digimon," Mimi answered, "but they can't digivolve, and they're biological, not data. At least, that's how Izzy explained it. Kyle or Ryo could explain it better."   
  
Stuart looked at Matt. "So Ivysaur's not your partner?"   
  
"Nahh. Mine's Gabumon. I'm just watching Ivysaur while he's visiting Palmon."   
  
"Well, I can't blame him," Monodramon said, "though I'd love to show Palmon around Stuart's place some time." Ivysaur's eyes narrowed. "Easy froggy, I'm not trying to move in or anything."   
  
"Uh-oh." Palmon groaned.   
  
Stuart blinked. "According to Palmon," Mimi said, "'froggy' is an insult to most Ivysaurs. A deadly one."   
  
"Maybe we should take this to the digital world." Matt suggested. "I don't think I want to explain a monster battle in downtown New York."   
  
"Are they fighting over me?" Palmon asked. Mimi and Stuart looked at the two monsters, and nodded. "That's so...romantic!"   
  
"Matt?"   
  
"This is a new one by me, Stuart."   
  
==Digital World   
  
Digimon and pokemon stared each other down. Stuart walked over to Monodramon, still uneasy about the whole thing. "Are you sure about this?"   
  
"Hey, I'm not trying to horn in or anything." Monodramon replied.   
  
"That's why you're fighting Ivysaur? This whole thing is stupid. It's so...so..." Stuart stammered, trying to find the words to use.   
  
"Boy?" Mimi suggested. Beside her, Palmon giggled.   
  
"I don't think there's any way out of this." Matt said. "I'm gonna hate explaining this to Kyle. Just promise you won't beat each other up too much?"   
  
Monodramon faced Palmon, all smiles. "Relax! I'm Monodramon, Dragon digimon extrordinaire! I may be a rookie, but my Beat Knuckle and Cracking Bite can bring any opponent down. No offense, Ivysaur, but you haven't got a prayer against me in a fight. Right, Stuart?"   
  
"Don't look at me. I'm staying out of this one." Stuart's comment took a bit of the wind out of Monodramon's sails.   
  
"Hmph. Well, anyway, I shall triumph. Hey, Palmon! If I win, can we go out?"   
  
Palmon made a show of thinking about it. "I don't know. Ivysaur's pretty cute...OK, sure!" She saw Matt look at her, eyes wide. "What? You took June out for dinner once!" As Mimi went over to discuss the point with Matt, Palmon walked between the two monsters. "Start any time!"   
  
Monodramon, eyes closed, stretched, getting ready for the battle. "OK, look, I'm sorry about the whole 'froggy' thing, I didn't know. But I gotta warn you, we dragon digimon don't lose that often. So why don't we-"   
  
"Saur. Ivy, Ivysaur." While Monodramon was speaking, Ivysaur walked up to the digimon. As Monodramon leaned forward, Ivysaur shot a cloud of Sleep Powder in his face.   
  
"Hey, no fa-" was as far as Monodramon got before he keeled over, fast asleep.   
  
Stuart ran over to his partner, picking him up. "What happened?"   
  
"Saur, Ivy Ivysaur Ivy."   
  
Stuart blinked, not understanding. "He just used Sleep Powder on Monodramon. He'll be up in a few minutes." Palmon translated.   
  
"That was a letdown." Mimi said. Matt nodded.   
  
"It's a fair tactic." Palmon replied, standing by Ivysaur. "And Ivysaur knows I'd be really mad at him if he hurt Monodramon any. Right?" Ivysaur nodded, blushing as he did.   
  
==Pokemon World, Celadon Hospital   
  
Sabrina leaned against the wall, just outside the patient's door, looking less than pleased.   
  
Nurse Joy, who had been checking on the patient's progress, walked up to the gym leader. "Well? Anything?"   
  
"Beyond what I told you already? I'm afraid not. There is something dark and evil that did this to him, and it couvered its tracks pretty well. I am fairly sure it was not a pokemon, though. Nor was it human."   
  
"What else could it be?" Joy asked, worried.   
  
"I do not know. Although..." Sabrina looked in the room. The patient was asleep. "Not too long ago, there was a report of a monster in the Johto area that did not resemble any known pokemon. Before that, another one was sighted at Mount Moon. There may be a connection. And there is..." Sabrina stopped, looking up at the ceiling.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"Something's wrong. I sense..." The gym leader looked up again, trying to identify what made her psychic senses scream such a warning to her. "I do not know. But I am sure he is connected. Please be sure to keep him safe. Whoever did this to him may come back to finish the job."   
  
==Digital World   
  
After about five minutes, Monodramon came to. "Oy. Hey, Stuart, I just had the wackiest..." he stopped, looked around. "Did I just get completely humiliated?" Everyone there nodded. "Gah."   
  
Stuart checked his watch. "I'd better be getting back. Come on, Monodramon, we'd better head home." Monodramon sighed, and headed over to Stuart.   
  
Palmon walked up. "Monodramon? I could be free next week. Primary Village OK?"   
  
"You...you mean that?"   
  
Palmon nodded. "I don't think Ivysaur would mind. But only if you two become friends, alright?" Ivysaur, standing beside her, extended one of his vine whips. Smiling, Monodramon shook it.   
  
==5 minutes later  
  
"It was great meeting you all!" Stuart waved, heading back to the portal.   
  
"What are you talking about? You've only just gotten here. There's so much of New York to show you!" Grabbing Stuart's arm, Mimi led him back to the portal.   
  
"Hey, wait up!" Matt called, running after them.   
  
After the humans and Monodramon left, Palmon looked at Ivysaur. "Is it really OK? I'm not dumping you or anything."   
  
"Saur." Ivysaur nodded, then closed his eyes. "Ivyyy...SAUR!" With a shout, Ivysaur fired all four of his vine whips into the ground. Concentrating, Ivysaur sent his energy into the ground. Around the two, small flowers began to bloom.   
  
Palmon was unable to speak for a moment, stunned by what Ivysaur had done. Then, "Ivysaur, this is...beautiful...Ivysaur?"   
  
The pokemon was asleep; this stunt had drained all his energy. Smiling, Palmon kissed the pokemon on the forehead, and sat down, leaning on Ivysaur's side, resting in the shade of the bloom on his back. Afer a while, she nodded off, and the two slept in a field of flowers.   
  
Next Episode:   
While visiting the pokemon world, TK and Davis meet Crystal, who is on the run from Team Rocket. Why is the gang of thugs chasing her, and who is the girl that is with her? New faces are introduced, and an old enemy returns in the next episode:   
'Tenkuu no Espeon' 


	22. Tenkuu no Espeon

Note: These events take place at roughly the same time as Episode 20 

Digimon: Digicross Episode 21   
'Tenkuu no Espeon' 

==Pokemon World, Cinnabar Island. 

The trainer stepped back, watching as the Leaf Stone did its work on the cluster of egg pokemon. As he watched, the six Exeggcute glowed white, then seemed to become one pillar of white light, then resolve into a walking palm tree. "Exeggutor!" the pokemon announced, indicating that the evolution was complete. 

Edward Silver smiled. "Alright, we're ready now." 

Behind him, another trainer walked up, followed by a red pokemon with a burning tail. "Still chasing the Beast, Ed?" 

Edward turned around. "Ryo! Where've you been! It's been over a year since I saw you last!" 

"I have walked long and far on paths that I may never speak of, lest death comes to those unready to hear my tale of grief and sorrow." He grinned. "Actually, I've been catching up with an old friend. And of course the usual grind of saving the world. And yourself?" 

Edward sighed. "I'm finally going to do it. All my pokemon are as strong as I can get them, training here." Edward indicated the Pokemon Gym behind him. "Gym Leader Blaine gave me a Leaf Stone, so I decided it was time to use it. And Exeggcute said they were ready to evolve too. Now I just have to make my way to the Orange Archipelago." 

"That's where he was spotted last, right?" 

Edward nodded. "I can feel it. I know that this is the best time to go." As he spoke, he pulled a silver feather out, suspended around his neck by a delicate silver chain. "I've been dreaming of seeing Lugia since I was six." 

"I was there too." Ryo replied. "We were at the beach and there he was, flying through the sky. You thought it was a cloud." 

Edward shook his head. "No, you did." Ryo grinned, nodding. "Hey, you want to come along? Two trainers have a better chance than one." 

"Can't. My life has gotten weird again." 

Edward blinked. "This isn't 'four years ago' weird, is it?" Ryo nodded. "Man. Maybe I should go with you." 

"Nahh. This has been eating at you since you were six. And you're just nutty enough to do it. Just watch out; since that whole weird weather thing, Shamuti Island has been lousy with trainers looking for Lugia. The bad type, I should add." 

Exeggutor's happy face looked at Edward. "We can handle them." Edward replied. 

==Vermillion City Pokemon Center 

Espeon woke up, startled out of his sleep by the intensity of his dream. He didn't know the source, but he knew what he saw; two monsters fighting, somewhere in the Orange Island area. One of this world, one not. 

"Kurt?" Crystal Melin sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily. She felt uneasy, as if she had had a disturbing dream that she couldn't remember. "Was it something you had for dinner?" Espeon shook his head, and leaped onto her bed. Smilling, Crystal cradled her pokemon in her arms, and the two went back to sleep. 

The next morning, Crystal got ready to leave the pokemon center, rested and ready to move on. She had just defeated the gym leader there, taking her one step closer to participating in the Indigo Pokemon League. "I wonder where I should go next?" she asked out loud. 

Nurse Joy heard Crystal, and walked over. "Well, Celadon's nearby, or you could go to the gym in Fuschia City. I heard that you did very well in your match against Lieutenant Surge yesterday." 

"Kurt did a lot of the work." Crystal answered, scratching her pokemon between the ears. 

"Well, if you're not in too big a hurry, you can always check out the cultural festival coming here. There's a group of performers coming in from the Orange Islands, and they're doing some of their ceremonial dances. In fact, I think the first show starts today; the ship carrying them docked yesterday." The lights flickered, causing Nurse Joy to 'tch' in annoyance. "That's the third day this has been happening. I hope nothing's wrong at the power plant." 

==Celadon City 

On the roof of the shopping center, Davis stared out over the city. As beautiful as he found the digital world, he was a city boy at heart. Plus some of the similarities between Celadon and Tokyo were a bit comforting to him. Good place to spend a weekend. Even better if there was someone to spend it with... 

TK walked over to him. "Hey, you going to mope all day?" 

"Who's moping?" Davis asked, a bit defensively. 

"Well, you are. Hey, it was your idea to come here. Why'd you ask me to come along? Wouldn't you have rather asked Kari to go along?" 

"Nahh. She and Izzy were planning something for her dad's birthday. Anyway, I don't think I could any more." 

"She is still your friend, you know. You don't have to avoid her now that.." TK trailed off, wondering if he'd said too much. 

"It wouldn't feel right." 

TK blinked. "OK, who are you and what did you do with the real Davis Motomiya?" 

"Hey! I can be as sensitive as the next guy! Besides, I didn't see you asking someone to go along!" 

"Well it's not like I have a lot of choices anymore!" TK snapped. He regretted it as soon as he said it. "I'm sorry." he said quietly. 

"Nahh, I deserved it." Davis straightened up and looked right at TK. "Look, I know I'm a real jerk sometimes, but, well..." Davis tammered, trying to figure out what to say. "I'm...glad you're my friend. But don't tell anyone I said that." 

TK chuckled. "Sure. I feel the same way. So now what?" 

"Cruise, what else?" Shaking his head, TK followed Davis to the stairwell. 

==Vemillion City 

"What do you mean, cancelled?" Crystal asked. 

The old man shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. But the star of our show has vanished. If we don't find Melody, we won't have a show at all." He sighed, looking around. "We're checking the town now. I suppose she might have wandered off; she loves sight seeing. But still..." 

"I'm sure she'll turn up. Can I help?" 

"No, we have everyone looking as it is, plus we called the police as well. But thank you for offering, young lady." The man did give Crystal a description of the missing girl, in case she did find her. 

Crystal went over to a bench, and sat down. "I hope they find her. I just wish...Kurt? What is it?" 

The pokemon was looking skywards. Crystal looked up. Squinting, she could just make out some sort of airship flying overhead. At first, she thought it was a balloon, then she realized it wasn't a baloon at all. 

"What is that?" Though she was not able to communicate telepathically with her Espeon, Crystal was able to sense that the pokemon was disturbed by something. "Should we follow it?" 

Kurt nodded. 

== 

Melody hadn't seen them coming. One second, she was walking by a nice little glassblower's stand, then a pair of thugs had grabbed her and led her into an alleyway, where she was tied up and knocked out with some sort of gas. 

She had come to a few minutes ago, and had already realized she was airborne. "Where am I?" she demanded. 

"I see our guest has awakened." The voice was adult, slightly accented, and sounded cultured. "I hope my...associates were not too rough with you. I would hate for you to have been injured." 

Melody stared at the newcomer. "You..." 

The man bowed. "William Jirirudan the Third, at your service. Or, to be more accurate, at my service. You, that is." 

"What do you want?" 

"The same thing I have always wanted. Lugia, the Guardian Beast of the Sea. He escaped me once, but I will have him. And you, my dear, are the key to that." 

"Me? You're crazy!" 

"Not at all. You see, I recalled that you were able to exercise some influence over Lugia. So, if I have you playing your song at the right time and in the right spot, it should be easy to capture Lugia again." Jirirudan looked at the two people in there. "Oh, and let me introduce my new compatriots. Melody, may I present Butch and Cassidy of Team Rocket? It is they who have brought you to me, and they who have graciously supplied me with this new ship." 

"Don't forget our deal," Butch rasped, "Once you catch him, he's ours." 

"Of course," Jirirudan said, nodding. "The satisfaction of capturing one of the legendary pokemon will be more than enough compensation." 

"You're assuming I'll help." Melody snarled. 

"And you're assuming that Team Rocket won't make sure you'll cooperate." Cassidy replied. "If you don't make with the music, well, we have agents all over Vermillion City. One of them is bound to come into contact with your friends from Shamuti Island, right? Just think about it for a while. Team Rocket is everywhere, little girl." 

William left the room, confident that the two Rocket thugs would not let the girl escape. This time, there was no 'chosen one' to interfere. Strolling onto the bridge of the zeppelin, a technician, another Rocket grunt, approached him. "The wind is with us. We should be at our base in the abandoned power plant within the hour. Once there, we can record the girl's song and play it anywhere there's an ocean current." 

William nodded again. "Excellent." 

== 

Crystal had been following the airship for over an hour now. Her Ponyta, which she had caught shortly after her visit to Mount Moon, was tired and needed a rest. She dismounted, seeing that the zepellin was landing. "Good work." she said to Ponyta, recalling him into a pokeball. She walked slowly towards the place the ship had landed, staying in the overgrowth. As she approached, she toyed with the digivice she had recieved. 

She sensed Kurt staring at her. "No, I'm not thinking about TK." She walked forward a few more paces. "Not much, anyway" she added, cheeks reddening a bit. Quietly, the trainer and her pokemon creeped forward until they could make out the zepellin. "I think I see her." Crystal said, looking through a pair of binoculars. They were a cheap pair, but it allowed her to make out some details. "There's a bunch of people there. I think some of them have Team Rocket uniforms and...I see her!" Crystal breathed, recognizing Melody from the description she had gotten before she left. "That looks like the old power plant, the one they're planning to renovate to power the new magnet train lines." 

She got up, deciding that calling the police would be the next logical step. As she did, she inadvertently caught the attention of some of the guards nearby. "Hey, you!" one of them called, running over. 

Misdreavus appeared, Crystal releasing the ghost pokemon so it could hypnotise the two guards before they could sound the alarm. They dropped, sound asleep. "Good work, Kitty." she said to the ghost. Kitty took up station above and behind Crystal, and followed the trainer towards the base. All she needed was a phone, a radio, anything she could call for help with. 

"I wish TK was here." 

==Celadon City 

"Watch you don't lose a lung or something." Davis remarked as TK bent over, recovering from a rather strong sneeze. The two were walking through the downtown area, their partner digimon joining them. 

"Thanks for the image." 

Davis smirked. "Maybe someone's talking about you." TK gave him a sour look in return. 

"Who would be talking about TK?" Patamon asked. 

"It's an old superstition Davis told me about." Veemon said. "If you sneeze really loud, it means that somone's talking about you. I guess that means Davis was really popular after that fight against the Gizamon." 

"That was a cold Veemon. Different thing." 

"Maybe it was that girl TK met." Patamon wondered. 

Davis' ears perked up. "Oh? Who might that be?" he asked, grinning as TK's face turned crimson. "Hey, didn't Matt say you were with someone after Diaboromon showed up? Quartz, Emerald..." 

"Crystal" TK replied, a bit too quickly, silently vowing to have a little talk with Matt about what he told Davis. With a large wooden club, TK decided. 

==Abandoned Power Plant 

Cassidy looked in on the prisoner. "How's she doing?" Butch asked. 

"Same. More mad than scared. We'd better keep an eye on her, she's the type that might pull something." 

Butch chuckled. "Do I look like James? You wouldn't believe the stories he's spreading now." 

Cassidy grimaced. "Please, not that garbage about pokemon that can evolve at will, talk, and fight like demons. I think that Victreebel of his has chewed his head one time too many." 

Butch didn't share Cassidy's evaluation. "Yeah, but what if they're right? Remember that big fight at Mount Moon? Those weird pokemon that showed up, then vanished? What if there's a connection?" 

"Look, right now, our only orders are to keep an eye on this brat until she's ready to help us catch Lugia. If Giovanni wanted us to chase down every rumoured new pokemon that we heard about, he'd have told us to. He's probably got what's her face on it." 

"Agent 009? The 'Black Tulip'? You haven't heard?" Cassidy cocked her head, intreigued about the latest Rocket Gossip. "Her cover got blown. She got fingered by that punk Ash and his friends over in the Johto area. The boss nearly had a coronary." (Just after the special 'Mewtwo Returns'. Neat show, worth the rental. -ed) 

"Little miss wonder agent got nailed? Oh, I am *so* disappointed." 

Inside the cell, Melody heard snatches of the conversation. She had never thought that anyone would think she could summon Lugia. Help revive him, even communicate with him, yes. "He's not some creature that I can summon. Why don't they realize that?" There was a small clock, mounted on the wall; William had given her one hour to think things over, or else Team Rocket would start kidnapping the rest of the performers. 

"Lugia, I'm sorry" she whispered. "They're my family." She started to get up when the room chilled. Looking around, she saw a faint mist form near her, away from the door so no-one outside could see it. "A Misdreavus?" As she watched, the ghost pokemon seemed to smile, wink, then close its eyes, as if concentrating on something. A second alter, the air in front of her shimmered, and another pokemon appeared. "An Espeon!" 

:Hold on: a voice echoed in Melody's mind, as the Espeon padded to her, placed a paw on her hand, and flared with energy. Melody felt as if the entire world went sideways without telling her, and blacked out. 

Outside the cell, the flash was noticed. "Hey!" Butch shouted, grabbing a key and opening the door. He got in just in time to see something phase through one of the cell walls and vanish. "A teleporter! Cassidy, sound the alarm, someone's busted her out with a psychic pokemon!" 

==Celadon City. 

TK stopped, looking up. As he did, both his and Davis' digivices started beeping loudly. Davis took his out, looking at it. "Looks like someone's digivice is active. I wonder who's?" 

TK looked at the screen on his digivice. "I don't know. None of the other digidestined are in this direction; Joe, Ryo, and Cody are in Olivine, but that's opposite the direction this signal's coming from. Could it be Kyle's?" 

"No." Davis replied firmly. "He's...on our world." 

"Maybe it's a new digidestined." Veemon suggested. "I think Izzy said he was talking to some of them." 

"That was on the Human world." Patamon countered. "Although it could be someone from here. Maybe we should go check it out." 

"Sure! Maybe it'll be Crystal." Davis teased. 

"DAVIS!" The four made their way to the edge of town, where no one would see them. Quickly, their digimon digivolved, Patamon to Pegasusmon, Veemon to ExVeemon. The four flew off to investigate the new digivice signal. 

==Outside the power plant 

Crystal put a hand against the outside wall, as she felt her energy suddenly drain away. As she did, the digivice on her hip beeped quietly, though she didn't notice it over the din of the sirens. 

Kitty, her Misdreavus phased through the wall, just as Kurt reappeared with Melody. Crystal staggered over, catching the girl and keeping her from falling over. "Melody, right?" Melody nodded, still woozy from the teleport. "My name's Crystal, and I'm here to get you home. Come on." She led the girl away from the power plant, entering the brush surrounding it as the Rocket thugs started their search. 

Melody started to recover as Crystal called out Ponyta. "How did you get me out?" 

"Kurt led me to you," she replied, indicating the Espeon sitting by Crystal, "then Kitty searched for you in that power plant. When she found you, Kurt used Kitty's mind as a beacon, and teleported to where you were. Then he just reversed the process, bringing you back with him. It took a lot out of him, though." Crystal stroked the side of her Ponyta, hoping the pokemon was strong enough to get them to the nearest town. "I'll get you back to Vermillion quickly, I promise." 

"You're not going anywhere!" Crystal and Melody spun around. Behind them, Butch and Cassidy stood several meters away. "I'm impressed," Cassidy said, "your Espeon is strong enough to teleport another person; you don't see that level of power that often. Why not come work for us?" Cassidy's voice dropped as she smiled evilly. "It's less painful than the alternative." 

"That's a joke, right?" 

Butch sighed. "They're all alike, I guess. Hey, how about we show them Team Rocket's latest breakthrough?" 

"Good idea. Alright kids, it's time to get beaten, and it's going to be a fight millenia in the making! Kabutops, GO!" 

Melody stepped back. "But...those are extinct!" 

Butch grinned. "Don't you just love genetic reanimation?" 

Crystal stepped back. "Ponyta, Ember attack!" Ponyta launched a wave of flame at the two Kabutops, who just ignored the attack. 

"Nice try, but these two are rock AND water types! They could tap dance in a volcano without noticing it!" Cassidy nodded to the Kabutops she had released. "Hydro Pump!" Ponyta screamed as the blast of water hit him, and collapsed. "So, what else do you got?" Cassidy teased, smirking at Crystal. 

Kurt started to move towards one of the Kabutops, muscles tensed. "Kurt?" 

:Trust me: came the mental reply. Crystal stopped, stunned. 

== 

The two digimon had been flying for some time now; airborne, ExVeemon and Pegasusmon could cover distances much more quickly than if they had gone by land. Davis looked at his digivice again. "Looks like we're closing in!" he called. "ExVeemon and I'll land and go in on the ground." 

"What good will that do?" TK called over. 

"Raidramon's attack is better. And a flying blue digimon is a bit harder to explain, right?" 

"Can't argue that." Exveemon replied. "I could use a good stretch about now. My wings are killing me!" 

"That's the spirit!" Davis yelled. "We'll have a two pronged assault!" 

"Great," TK muttered, "'General' Davis strikes." 

"I HEARD THAT!" 

== 

"Kurt!" The Espeon was knocked back to where Crystal was, the reciever of a viscious kick from one of the two Kabutops he was fighting. Though he could normally have beaten the two ancient pokemon, his energy was drained from the stress of teleporting both himself and Melody of of the building. Crystal picked up the fallen pokemon. As she did, Kurt glowed white and reverted to Eevee! 

Butch watched this, wide eyed. "Cassidy-" 

"I saw it too. Maybe James hasn't cracked after all." Cassidy pointed to the two Kabutops behind her. "OK kids, the demo's over. Go back to your cell, and you might come out of this breathing. Got it?" The two Kabutops advanced menacingly, bladed forearms glinting in the sunlight. 

"THUNDER BLAST!" A bolt of electricity caught the two Kabutops off guard, knocking them out instantly. A second later, a blue and black monster appeared, a young boy wearing goggles riding it. "Yeah!" he said, pumping his fist, "that was too easy!" 

Butch growled, pulling out a pokeball. "Skarmory, get rid of that thing!" A metallic bird appeared, cawing a challenge. 

"Equis Beam!" Pegasusmon appeared a second later, firing a bolt of energy at Skarmory. The bird was able to withstand the attack, but fell back anyway, unsure of this new attacker. 

Crystal recognized the rider instantly. "TK." she breathed. 

"You know them?" Melody asked, incredulous. She was no pokemon trainer, but Melody was sure she would have heard about a flying horse and a big black...lizard. As she watched, Skarmory recovered and attacked again, only to be driven back by another powerful blast of lightning. Growling, Butch and Cassidy recalled their pokemon, falling back to get reinforcements. 

TK and Davis dismounted and ran over to the two girls. "Crystal?" TK blinked, surprised that Crystal was here, of all places. "What are you doing here?" 

"No time for that." Melody interrupted. "We have to get back to Vermillion City. I think those two Rocket thugs went for help, they're not going to let me go without a fight." 

"And you are?" Davis asked. "Why would those creeps want you?" 

"I," Melody replied sharply, "am sick of the damsel in distress routine, and they have some nutso scheme involving capturing Lugia. Now come on, I'm sick of this place!" Walking over, Melody clambered onto Raidramon's back. "Hey, that's my seat!" Davis yelled, climbing up behind Melody. 

"I guess it's you and me." Crystal said to TK. "My Ponyta's in no condition to carry anyone." TK nodded, trying not to blush. 

"We'd better split up." Davis yelled. "We'll go by land, and you two go by air. We'll meet at the pokemon center!" 

"We don't even know where it is!" 

"I do!" Melody called. "Get this thing moving!" 

"The name's Raidramon," Raidramon growled, "not 'thing'. Now hang on you two!" Raidramon bounded off into the forest. A second later, Pegasusmon, carrying TK and Crystal, headed skywards. 

== 

"So, this pokemon is a Raidramon? I never heard of it!" 

Davis, unaccustomed to not sitting in front held onto his digimon's sides as best he could. Melody was holding onto the lightining bolt shaped grips, and there weren't many other places Davis could grab onto. Not without getting slapped, anyway..."Yeah. He's one of a kind. So who's this Lugia guy those two are after." 

"You don't know? Lugia, legendary pokemon? Guardian of the sea?" Davis shook his head. "You are out of the loop. Those two are working for a creepy pokemon collector I ran into a few months back. They think I can summon Lugia, so they want to record it and try to capture him." The two stopped talking as Raidramon jumped over a creek. After a second, she continued. "They kidnapped me in Vermillion City, and I have to get back to warn them that Team Rocket might be coming after them too!" 

"No problem." Raidramon called back. "Davis and I can handle those two. Especially if they're anything like the two goons Yolei told us about." 

"If you're talking about Jessie and James, forget it. Those two are more comic relief than criminal masterminds." A roaring sound ahead forced Raidramon to slow down. 

A second later, an explosion knocked over several trees. Raidramon dodged the debris, then looked up. In front of him, Cassidy and William stepped out. "You're not getting any further kids." Cassidy threatened. 

"Davis," Raidramon said, "Kyle told me about Steel type pokemon. I'll have a better shot as Flamedramon." 

Davis shook his head. "That thing's huge. Digivolve to ExVeemon instead. We can't waste time here." Raidramon nodded, glowed, and reverted to Veemon. Melody stepped back, stunned. "He...de-evolved? Just like Crystal's Espeon." 

"Like whaaa?" Davis asked, caught off guard. Quickly, he pulled out his D-3. "Did she have a gadget like this?" Melody nodded. "So it was her digivice we were tracking. Wait'll I tell the others." Davis smirked, wondering how Yolei would react to that little tidbit. 

"Veemon, digivolve to...ExVeemon!" 

Steelix roared, charging at the dragon digimon. ExVeemon sidestepped the initial rush, and slammed a fist into Steelix' body. 

"Owowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow!" The digimon shook his hand, regretting that attack. Following his trainer's commands, Steelix dug underground, preparing to launch an underground attack. 

"ExVeemon! Fly up!" Davis yelled. Exveemon did so, avoiding Steelix' next attack. Seeing it was vulnerable, the digimon knocked the pokemon out with a blast of his V-Laser. Overwhelmed, Steelix collapsed. "Great! Now where's the other one?" 

"Look out!" Melody yelled, as Muk came up behind the two humans and prepared to envelop them in its poison filled body. 

== 

"Hey, did you get another Eevee?" Davis asked, noticing the pokemon Crystal held in her arms. 

Crystal shook her head. "No. This is my Espeon, Kurt. He was in a fight, and when he was beaten, he...reverted. I don't know what's wrong with him." 

Pegasusmon overheard this. "TK. Show her your digivice." Confused, TK did so. 

"Hey, I have one just like that!" Crystal took her D-3 out. "It's even the same colour! Is that why Kurt changed back into an Eevee?" 

"It must be like with Kyle's Eevee." Pegasusmon reasoned. "TK, her digivice must have been the one we were tracking!" 

"Yeah...I guess." TK said slowly. "If that's so, then I guess she must be a digidestined too." 

"Digidestined? Is that like what you were talking about back at Mount Moon? About Digimon and other worlds?" TK nodded. "But Kurt's a pokemon. He can't do anything like...what we saw." 

"Sure he can." Pegasusmon replied. "Ask Kyle; his Eevee can digivolve too. So can his Growlithe. And Ryo's Charmeleon, come to think of it." 

"It's OK," Tk said, turning to face Crystal, "He's fine. Once he gets his energy back, I'm sure he'll be able to digivolve to Espeon again." TK smiled, trying to reassure Crystal. 

A bolt of golden energy forced the digimon into a dive. "Just as it was getting romantic." he quipped, causing both riders to blush. Behind him, two pokemon flew towards the trio, grey skinned and long snouts ending in a sharp, downward pointing tip. 

"Aerodactyl." Crystal said, recognizing the two. "Can we outrun them?" 

"Not with the two of you. But if I land, I can digivolve to Angemon; I'm faster that way." TK nodded, and guided Pegasusmon down. Once on the ground, Pegasusmon glowed, and reverted to Patamon. 

"That's what happened. Almost exactly." Crystal said, looking at TK. "And Kurt will be able to..." In her arms, the Eevee looked expectantly at TK, wondering the same thing. 

"It'll happen" Patamon said. "You and Kurt are like me and TK. You just have to want it to happen. It helps that you're a nice person. Must be why TK likes you so much." the digimon stage-whispered. 

"PATAMON!" TK waved his hands. "Don't mind him, he's just been hanging around Gatomon too much, that's all!" 

Eevee yipped a few times, looking up at Crystal. "Not you too!" Crystal shouted at Kurt. A second later, TK and Crystal both chuckled, blushing faintly, realizing how silly the whole situation was. Lost in a forest, chased by Team Rocket, and their partner monsters chose now to were play matchmaker. "I...I think we'd better get going." Crystal finally said, still a bit embarassed. TK nodded, as did Patamon. But before the digimon could digivolve, the two Aerodactyl tore through the forest, attacking! 

== 

"I must say," William said, walking towards Melody, "you do make the most interesting friends. The large blue pokemon must be quite a rarity; he would make an excellent addition to my collection." 

"You leave ExVeemon alone!" Davis yelled. The dragon digimon gritted his teeth, but dared not attack; the two humans were too close to Muk for him to risk an attack, and William and Cassidy kept an eye on the digimon. 

"ExVeemon?' William mused. "Looks like a variant on Dragonite." 

"He's not for rent or sale you creep!" 

"You wouldn't be from from Pallet Town, would you?" Cassidy asked, curious. Coincidentally, Melody wondered the same thing. "Never mind. Turn over the pokemon and...listen to me. Like you'll do that willingly." She turned to face ExVeemon. "OK, you! You got big all of a sudden, so I'm willing to bet you can reverse it. Change back now, or your trainer gets a full body acid wash!" ExVeemon growled, then reverted to Veemon. 

"Controllable evolution. I am impressed." William applauded. 

Cassidy shrugged. "We can do the same thing with an Eevee. Now over there where we can keep an eye on you." Cassidy and William turned back to the humans, dismissing Veemon. 

For a second, Davis' and Veemon's eyes met. Then, shouting, Veemon tackled Cassidy, smashing his head into her midsection. As he did, Davis grabbed Melody and jumped clear of the Muk before it had a chance to smother the two with its poisonous body. Before the two could get any further, Steelix burst out of the ground, blocking them. 

"Masterfully played." William commented, walking towards Davis. "Perhaps you are related to that boy. As he did, Melody ducked, grabbing a branch. Hearing the noise, William turned around just in time for Melody to catch him across the jaw with a largish piece of redwood, knocking out the collector. 

The whole sequence only took a few seconds. When it was over, Cassidy was still struggling to get up, William was knocked out, and Melody was standing over the collector, piece of wood held like a baseball bat. "I *said* I was really tired of the damsel in distress routine." She smiled as Davis gave her a thumbs up. 

== 

Patamon screamed as the Aerodactyl slammed into him, driving the rookie digimon into a tree. Thet two ancient pokemon had attacked before Patamon had a chance to digivolve. TK ran over, picking up his partner. "Leave him alone!" he snarled. 

"Forget it." Butch, riding one of the Aerodactyl, replied. "I don't know how you can get your pokemon to evolve on command, but I don't intend on giving you a chance to do it. Now the two of you surrender or else." 

Crystal tried to figure out how to battle back. If Kurt was still an Espeon, they might have had a chance. Ponyta was out, the rest of her pokemon were back at the pokemon center. That left Misdreavus. With a shout, she released the ghost pokemon. 

"I was expecting that. DEVIL BITE!" Butch commanded his aerodactyl to attack, wicked fangs tearing into Kitty's body. The ghost shouted, then passed out. "Devil Bite's one of the strongest Dark type attacks, perfect for fighting ghosts." Horrified, Crystal watched as her pokemon fell, barely concious. "She's not out yet? Tougher than I thought." 

"Crystal," TK whispered, "get out of here! You can't beat them!" Crystal hesitated, not willing to leave TK behind. "Go! Your pokemon aren't in any condition to battle!" 

Kurt stood up, staring defiantly at the two attacking pokemon. "Kurt?" Crystal nodded, understanding. "If Kurt's staying, then so am I!" 

TK recognized the look. He'd seen it from the other digidestined many times, when they were willing to face hopeless odds. Patamon stirred, coming to. "Alright. But be careful, ok?" 

Crystal smiled. "OK. Kurt, get ready!" As soon as she spoke, her Eevee started glowing, as did her digivice. "What's happening?" 

Patamon had recovered enough to make out what was happening. "He's digivolving!" 

"Eevee, digivolve to...Espeon!" It was Kurt that spoke. 

"No! Get him!" Butch yelled, making the two Aerodactyl fly towards the pokemon. The Aerodactyl screamed, sensing an easy kill. 

"Stop." was all Kurt said. The Solar pokemon's psychic power made the two attackers stop dead in their tracks, falling to the ground. Butch staggered up, recovering from the psionic assault Kurt had just unleashed. 

"How...how did...?" the criminal tried to say, before seeing an aura of energy forming around the Espeon. Butch was running a second later, trying to dodge the Swift attack. He vanished quickly, presumably running back to the base. 

"That was fun." Kurt remarked, glowing and reverting to Eevee. He ran back to Crystal and hopped into her arms. 

"That was incredible!" Crystal exclaimed. She looked at TK. "So does this mean I'm part of the team?" Caught off guard, TK started to stammer, not sure how to reply. 

"Sure." Patamon replied. "Just wait'll I tell the 0others that TK's girlfriend's a digidestined now." 

"PATAMON!" 

==Vermillion City 

Eventually, TK, Davis, Melody, and Crystal managed to meet up in the town. Melody quickly ran over to the police and told the officer there what had happened. TK had missed it, but Veemon took great pride in explaining how, after Melody had laid out her kidnapper, Davis and ExVeemon tied him up and dragged him back to town. They had been told that William Juriridan had several warrants out for his arrest, and that the authorities would be more than pleased to take him off their hands. 

Davis had nearly hurt himself laughing when Patamon told everyone that Crystal's Eevee had digivolved. TK came a good bit closer to hurting him when Davis started ribbing TK about it. A message on the D-Terminals TK and Davis carried saved the boy's life. 

TK read it, forgetting everything else as what he read sank in. "Digimon are attacking a place called Cinnabar Island. Cody, Joe, and Ryo are there now. Everyone else is on our world, and I don't know if they'll get this message in time." 

"We'd better get going then." Melody said, grabbing Davis' arm. "I was there with the rest of the performers a week ago, I know how to get there." 

"Count me in too!" Crystal said. "I still want to know exactly what happened to Kurt here." 

"L-look" Davis said. "You really need one of these to go through the digiport" he explained holding up his digivice. He had planned to cut through the Digital World, hopefully picking up the rest of the digidestiend on the way. And get directions -to- Cinnabar Island. If he could pry Kyle away from June... 

"This thing?" Melody asked, touching the D-3. As she did, it glowed, a bright blue-white, and a second digivice appeared. 

"Yeah...like that." Davis replied weakly. "Don't you have a show or something to do?" 

"It can wait." Melody replied. "You two are obviously lost without me." 

"Well I...HEY!" TK and Davis shouted. Crystal started chuckling, Eevee doing likewise. 

Next Episode   
On Cinnabar Island, Joe and Cody meet Ryo, and try to repel an invasion led by the disgraced Dagomon. Can they win, and who are the two mysterious digimon that offer to help them? Next time on Digimon: Digicross:   
'Deep Savers to the Rescue!' 


	23. Deep Savers to the rescue

Editor's note: I'd like to give a long, LONG overdue thank you to the prereaders on the Digicross Mailing List. Prima, Seth, Gull, Ninetails, Crystal saevans52, GadgetZinone, corpse_king_2000, you helped to do a lot of this. Also, thanks to the following Sites: With The Will, FeT's Digifandub page, The DMA, Megchan's, Pojo (yes, them), and TheOtaku.com.  
  
RPGAddict, thanks! Come on over, if you're interested. My Trivia skills aren't as good, though...  
  
In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, Any characters I did not create are property of their respective creators. It's not my sandbox, I'm just playing in it for a while. Any characters I did create, as well as the incredibly Rube Goldbergian storyline I dreamed up are mine. Thieves shall be robbed, as the Spider once said...  
  
Digicross Episode 22 'Deep Savers to the Rescue!' Special Bonus clip after the Epsiode: "Why Tai shouldn't eavesdrop."  
  
[OP theme: Digicross OP#1 by Prima]  
  
Note: Takes place at the same time Episode 21 does. Busy weekend for this lot, no?  
  
==Cinnabar Island  
  
Caryl Kyashi looked around the city, eyes wide. Understandable reaction, seeing as this was the first time the 11 year old had crossed dimensions. Around her, Cinnabar City teemed with life, human and pokemon. As tourist traps went, it was a pretty nice place.  
  
Renamon, her partner digimon, stood beside her, a bit uneasy. "Was this wise? We seem to be drawing some attention." Indeed, many trainers were stopping and staring at the tall digimon, trying to figure out what type of pokemon Renamon might be, and their chances in a pokemon battle (Approaching zero, from underneath -ed).  
  
"You said that the creatures here were like digimon. Come on, I want to see everything here!"  
  
"Perhaps. But-" Renamon stopped, looking around. There was a change in the crowd; something more interesting was now there, and approaching them. Renamon tensed, expecting a fight.  
  
Prima, aka Lorelei, aka The Ice Mistress of the Elite Four walked towards the two. "Hello. You're new here, aren't you?"  
  
==  
  
Two other digidestined were on the island, though they were unaware of the events happening in the city center. Joe Kido and Cody Hida looked out over the beach as their two partner digimon, Gomamon and Armadillomon, played in the sand. Joe's partner had complained that he wanted a vacation in 'a nice warm place with a beach', and Armadillomon said he wanted to practise in the water some more; Armadillomon had told Cody that Submarimon was his favorite digivolution, but he had very few opportunities to use that armoured form. As it was, Armadillomon and Cody had just gotten back from exploring the coral area outside Cinnabar Island, and the two wanted to take a break for a while (getting a closeup of a Gyarados will do that to a person -ed).  
  
"That big?" Joe asked.  
  
"Yeah. That Gyarados must have been as large as a Seadramon. It looked meaner, too."  
  
"I'm sure he was more scared of us than we were of him." Armadillomon said. "Even if he didn't look it." he allowed.  
  
"Sounds like fun." Gomamon said. "Hey Joe, why don't we go down for a look?"  
  
Joe smiled. "Because you don't have an airtight waterproof compartment?"  
  
"Details, I'm sure you can rent stuff."  
  
"I think I'll play tag with the deep sea pokemon later, Gomamon." Joe turned around, back to the rail he was leaning on. "I have to admit, Kyle was right about this place. It's lovely."  
  
"I'd like to go up to see the volcano, next." Cody said, looking up the mountain.  
  
"I'm afraid it's closed. The seismologists are worried about a possible eruption." A voice said. Cody and Joe saw three people walking towards them.  
  
Armadillomon and Gomamon hopped up beside their partners. "That's a digimon." Armadillomon whispered. "I think it's Renamon."  
  
"Who?" Joe asked.  
  
Gomamon answered. "Renamon's a rookie digimon, but her speeds supposed to be equal to that of Garurumon's. Watch out for her Diamond Storm attack and Wisteria punch."  
  
The taller of the two smiled. "So, these are digimon. It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Prima, and this," she indicated the younger girl, "is Caryl. I was just showing her around Cinnabar."  
  
"Hello." Caryl said, smiling.  
  
==At sea  
  
On the back of a Devidramon, Arukenimon and Sneasel watched as the giant digimon appeared through the rift. "Excellent," Arukenimon said, "Dagomon has made the transition. Now for the second part of Demon's plan. Spirit Needle!" Several silvery darts were hurled at Dagomon's body.  
  
In truth, Dagomon's personality had been dead for some days now, the evil digimon's mind blasted and reduced under Demon's ministrations. Now, the ultimate digimon was a mindless brute, intent only on destruction, a slave to the lord of the Dark Ocean's will! The monster shuddered as the needles penetrated Dagomon's skin, and sank in. In seconds, small shapes began to burst out of the digimon's body, reforming themselves into demonic figures.  
  
"Vilemon." Sneasel observed. "But adapted for life in the water, not the air."  
  
"Quite. With Dagomon's assistance, we now have the capacity to deliver a large strike force anywhere we wish. Of course, this does have the side effect of using up the digimon in question, but sacrifices must be made." Arukenimon chuckled cruelly, enjoying her former 'ally's' plight. Sneasel said nothing, wondering if she might be next.  
  
As the two watched, the forms that erupted from Dagomon's hide shot of towards an island in the distance. They didn't notice two other forms appear a few seconds after the portal was supposed to have closed. Just as well, as those two would be making their presence known in a few pages, whether Arukenimon wanted them to or not. (Most likely not -ed)  
  
==Cinnabar Island  
  
The group had retired to a small cafe, where everyone introduced themselves.  
  
"Didn't Izzy say there was a digidestined in New Zealand?" Joe mused.  
  
Caryl nodded. "That'd be me. You know Izzy?"  
  
Joe nodded. "Yeah, we sorta saved the world a few times. If you're Caryl, then you must be Renamon."  
  
"A pleasure." Renamon said, nodding her head. Caryl elbowed her digimon, reminding her that she should really lighten up a bit.  
  
"You're really lucky." Gomamon said. "I've only heard legends about Renamon. She's supposed to be one of the toughest Rookie digimon around."  
  
"You'd better stop." Caryl sighed. "I'd hate to think that Renamon got a swelled head from all this."  
  
"There's no harm in hearing the truth." Renamon replied. Caryl sighed again, though she was smiling as she did.  
  
"I'm just glad you stopped that boy from challenging us." Caryl said, looking at Prima.  
  
"It would have caused trouble if Renamon had accepted," Prima replied, "especially as you're not a licensed pokemon trainer."  
  
"Eish?" Caryl looked confused.  
  
"Kyle explained it to me." Cody answered. "There's nothing wrong with owning a pokemon as a pet, but only someone with a license can battle pokemon. He said the test for the initial license took a day or two for him to complete."  
  
Prima nodded. "It's not a perfect system, but it's the best we can do for now."  
  
Joe looked at Prima. "Are you a digidestined?"  
  
Prima shook her head. "No. But I have a relative in Saffron that told me all about them. She's the gym leader there. I'm a member of the Elite Four."  
  
"You mean those super skilled pokemon trainers?" Cody blurted out. "Uh...sorry."  
  
Prima smiled, adjusting her glasses. "It's alright, and it is largely the truth. But you three are much more interesting. It's not every day I meet people from another world." She indicated Caryl and Renamon. "I came across these two in the center of town. They were causing quite a stir."  
  
"We apologize." Renamon started.  
  
"No need. It's a fairly simple affair to get a license, it can be done in a few days."  
  
"I don't know." Cody said. "We figured we should keep a low profile for now. Besides, how could we fight in a pokemon battle? Wouldn't our digimon have an unfair advantage?"  
  
Armadillomon nodded. "I could do a lot of damage as Ankylomon."  
  
Gomamon nodded. "I tried my Marching Fishes and got a school of Magikarp." Joe nodded. It was a sight, to say the least.  
  
Two more people came over. "Cody?" One of them asked.  
  
Cody looked up. "Ryo! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just seeing off a friend." Ryo answered. "Everyone, this is Edward, and he's..." Ryo trailed off, recognizing the woman that was sitting with the group.  
  
"I see I've been recognized." Prima said resignedly. It was then that they all heard the screams from the beach. The group ran over to the area Joe and Cody had been at only a few minutes earlier.  
  
On the beach were dozens of small, black-furred creatures. "Vilemon." Ryo spat, recognizing the digimon. "There must be another portal open nearby!"  
  
Prima looked at the monsters. "Are those digimon?"  
  
Armadillomon nodded. "Yep, and they fit their name perfectly. They attack opponents with their Nightmare Shocker and Demon Darts. And they smell bad, too."  
  
"These look different." Gomamon observed, looking at the Vilemon milling around the beach. "These ones look like they've been underwater a lot." He looked back at Joe. "Should we fight them?"  
  
A yell got their attention. A young boy, about Cody's age, held a Rattata in his arms, several Vilemon circling the two. "Renamon, go!" Caryl said. Renamon nodded, leaping gracefully through the air.  
  
Several of the Vilemon looked up, saw the yellow and white digimon heading towards them. As she closed, small flecks of light formed around her. Seeming to hover in the air, Renamon shouted "Diamond Storm!" and launched her attack. Three of the Vilemon were too slow, and got hit. The rest scattered, and Renamon gathered boy and pokemon up, moving them out of the battle zone.  
  
Armadillomon watched as the three digimon de-resolved. "It's like when we were fighting those Dark Ones! They're not real digimon!"  
  
"Dagomon must be nearby!" Ryo said, pulling out a pokeball. It opened, and Charmeleon appeared. "What is it? I was having the best...Vilemon!" The pokemon looked at Ryo. "That means." Ryo nodded, holding out his digivice. "Right. Charmeleon, digivolve to... CHARIZARD!"  
  
"Don't forget about us! Gomamon, digivolve to...IKKAKUMON!"  
  
"Cody, I'd better go as Digmon for now. He's better at fighting on land!" Cody nodded, activating his digiegg. "Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Digmon, the wisdom of steel!"  
  
"'Wisdom of steel'?" Cody asked.  
  
"Makes me sound smarter." Digmon replied, moving to the battle. "This'll just take a second, you'll be safer here."  
  
==At Sea  
  
Dagomon snarled, thrusting his trident at the two digimon attacking him. Even had he retained his intelligence, Dagomon would not have been able to figure out how these two digimon had followed him here and were now attacking him. Angrily, Dagomon released more Vilemon to attack the interlopers.  
  
"Ice Winder!" Seadramon shouted, freezing several of the Vilemon in place. "I don't know how we got here, but you're not taking us down that easy, ugly!" The serpent digimon swam around Dagomon, firing more bolts of ice, all with little effect. "This guy doesn't know when to take the hint, Depthmon!"  
  
The other digimon, looking vaguely like an armoured merman, nodded. "Tell me about it. I didn't hear everything those other two were planning, but it can't be good for wherever this is. SARGASSO DRAG!" Cupping his hands and aiming them at the rest of the Vilemon, Depthmon created a vortex that pulled the attacking digimon inside the vortex. "And now...Bubble Bomb!" Several red bubbles formed around Depthmon, and were sucked into the vortex, headed towards the Vilemon. They exploded on impact, removing several more of the monsters.  
  
"This isn't working, we're not strong enough to fight Dagomon ourselves!" Seadramon yelled.  
  
:There is no need to: a new voice said in their minds. Seadramon and Depthmon watched as a whirlpool formed in front of Dagomon and shot upwards, catching the Ultimate level digimon on his chin. A silvery bird exploded out of the vortex.  
  
"I am Lugia, Guardian of the sea." The pokemon announced. "You have no place here." he went on, addressing Dagomon.  
  
"You...cannot defeat me." Dagomon grunted, a second before bolts of fire, ice, and electricity slammed into him. Turning, he saw three more birds, one red, another yellow, the other blue. Each of the three radiated elemental power.  
  
"I beg to differ." Lugia answered. "I brought help." Roaring, Lugia launched the Hyper Beam he had been building up.  
  
"I think we've just been upstaged." Seadramon said, watching the legendary pokemon go into battle.  
  
"You think?" Depthmon replied sarcastically. "But those aren't digimon...are they?"  
  
==  
  
Renamon swatted two more Vilemon away from her. She had rejoined the fight after seeing the boy and his pokemon to safety, but the Vilemon were ready for her. Her Diamond Storm attack was her best weapon, but it took time to build up, time that the horde was not giving her.  
  
"DUCK!" a voice behind her yelled. As she did, she heard someone shout "Gold Rush!" and saw several missiles shoot over her and push back several of the Vilemon.  
  
"My turn." Charizard called, flying overhead. "Dragon Breath!" Greenish flame poured out of Charizard's mouth, incinerating more of the Vilemon near Renamon. "Piece of cake!" As he spoke, Renamon shot past him, taking out the last Vilemon before it could surprise Charizard.  
  
"I could have handled it." Renamon said. "But thank you, anyway."  
  
"Oh, you had them right where you wanted them." Charizard replied. Several explosions some distance told them that Ikkakumon was doing well against the attackers; Prima and Edward had released their stronger pokemon to assist (Cloyster for Prima, Skarmory for Edward. -ed).  
  
"These were just drones?" Prima asked. She was one of the best pokemon trainers, but this match had been for more intense than any she had ever had. "If more of them come, we might not be as lucky."  
  
"Then we'd better head for the source." Ryo replied. "Charizard?"  
  
"Hey, you know me. I never walk away from a fight." The rest of the digimon indicated similar opinions.  
  
"We'd better get going then. And send for the rest of the digidestined as well." Cody nodded, emailing the others on his D-Terminal. "I can't ask you to come with us-"  
  
"Ohhhh no. Don't look at us like that. Don't even TRY to tell us we can't come."  
  
Renamon winced. "Trust me. You don't let her come, it wouldn't be a pretty sight."  
  
"I guess we can't stop you, then." Edward replied. "When you said your life had gotten weird again, Ryo, you meant it." As he spoke, Digmon glowed and reverted to Armadillomon.  
  
"You had best hurry then." Prima said. "Can you make it there on your own?"  
  
Ikkakumon and Charizard nodded. "No problem," the shaggy digimon answered. "Room enough for everyone and to spare."  
  
"We'll be fine." Cody said as Armadillomon headed to the water. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Submarimon, reliable guardian of the sea!" Cody climbed into Submarimon's cockpit, and the two headed out. Caryl climbed on Charizard's back with Ryo, Renamon following her. Joe climbed on Ikkakumon, and the digidestined headed out.  
  
"Good luck! Say hi to the Guardian Beast of the Sea for me!" Edward called.  
  
"Who, me?" Submarimon asked. Prima and Edward chuckled.  
  
==  
  
Lugia pulled back as Dagomon waved his trident around, trying to impale the pokemon. Dagomon had been able to force the battle underwater, meaning that the other three legendary birds could not help. Beside him, Seadramon and Depthmon added their power, doing little damage but forcing Dagomon to divide his attention three ways instead of just one.  
  
"We have to force him up, or this battle is lost." Depthmon called.  
  
"Have no fear, the calvary is here! Oxygen Torpedoes!" Submarimon surged into view, firing transparent missiles at Dagomon. They slammed into the evil digimon, forcing him up. "Sorry we're late, but traffic was murder."  
  
"Submarimon?" Seadramon yelled. "You must be one of the partner digimon!"  
  
"Yup. Cody'd wave, but I'd hate for him to get wet shoes. So, what's the plan?"  
  
"Hammer this monster until he drops." Depthmon yelled. "Bubble Bomb!"  
  
"Agreed." Lugia's voice sang in Cody's mind. "Wait for my signal...NOW!" Lugia dove down deep, then formed another whirlpool around him, though this one was much more powerful than any of the others he had formed during the fight. It shot up, propelling Dagomon upwards. The digimon was pushed out of the water. Articuno saw his chance, and froze the water underneath Dagomon solid. Seadramon, seeing the plan, added his ice attack, and Dagomon, instead of landing back in the water, found himself slammed onto a solid sheet of ice. It cracked under Dagomon's weight and force of the impact, creating several floating mini-glaciers.  
  
Roaring, Dagomon launched a wave of energy at his attackers. Charizard was forced to spiral away from the blast. The sudden move caused Caryl to fall off! "Caryl!" Renamon shouted, jumping off of Charizard's back, following her partner. As she fell, she saw Caryl's digivice glowing, and knew what it meant. "Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!"  
  
"Kyuubimon." Submarimon said, recognizing the digimon. "She's a data type digimon of the Champion level. She uses a special attack called Dragon Wheel that burns the foe with magical flames!"  
  
"Renamon." Caryl breathed as her digimon managed to catch her and landed on one of the ice floes. "How did you...?"  
  
"I digivolved to save you." the digimon explained. "Wait here, I will deal with this. DRAGON WHEEL!" Burning with pale blue flames, Kyuubimon launched herself at Dagomon.  
  
"You mean we will!" Ikkaumon roared, swimming up beside the two. Caryl climbed on Ikkakumon's back, Joe helping her up. "Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon launched a swarm of missiles at Dagomon. The explosions knocked Dagomon down, forcing the digimon to backpedal towards a small island. It also gave Kyuubimon a chance to get clear of the monster.  
  
"I know that place!" Ryo yelled. "It's an artificial island set up for pokemon trainers crossing this part of the sea on their pokemon! We'd better finish this battle soon, there's no telling when someone on a Lapras is going to come through!"  
  
"This isn't working!" Seadramon yelled. "We've hammered this guy and he's not dropping. I'm running out of energy, and Depthmon isn't doing much better!"  
  
"I hate to agree, but he's right!" Depthmon yelled. "If you know any Ultimate digimon, now's a good time to get them here!"  
  
A second after Depthmon spoke, a pink burst of energy slammed into Dagomon. "Someone call?" Silphymon asked, flying up. Behind the digimon, Pegasusmon, Stingmon and Exveemon, carrying TK, Ken, Davis, Kari, and Yolei between them, flew into view. With them were two people that Cody didn't recognize.  
  
"Ken? ALRIGHT!" Ryo yelled. "Let's link up and nail this thing once and for all!"  
  
"Can we get on solid ground first?" Yolei yelled back. The digimon carrying the children landed, while the seaborne digimon kept Dagomon busy. "Have we met?" Yolei asked the two newcomers. Off to one side, Pegasusmon switched back to Patamon, getting ready to digivolve to Angemon.  
  
"I'm Crystal, and this is Melody." Crystal answered. Melody nodded.  
  
"Intros later, we've got work to do! Stingmon...!"  
  
"Charizard!"  
  
"DNA Digivolve to...Dino Beemon!"  
  
"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!" As Angemon flew off, Yolei noticed Crystal watching Angemon, standing beside TK. And that TK seemed to be a bit red in the face.  
  
"Everyone, attack at the same time!" Silphymon yelled, hoping Dino Beemon would understand. The mutant digimon did, and added his attack to the combined attacks from all the digimon there. Lugia and the legendary birds added their attacks as well. Dagomon quickly fell under the assault, and was destroyed.  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
"So ends Dagomon." Demon said quietly. "I had hoped he would do more damage."  
  
"What now?" Arukenimon asked.  
  
"Well, Dagomon was defeated, but Larvitar's progress is most excellent. A few more days and he should be to the second Destiny Stone. He should be able to draw enough power from that to digivolve to his champion form."  
  
Sneasel looked curious. "Tyranitar?"  
  
Demon smiled under his cowl. "No, something a bit more...mobile. The Guardians weren't the only ones who knew what was powering Ken's base. It will be the...kindest cut yet."  
  
==Cinnabar Island  
  
"Say what?" Davis asked, looking at Growlithe and Elecmon.  
  
"I said we can't fly as Komainumon. We're not really proud of it, alright?"  
  
"You can't fly?" Davis asked, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Look, Leomon and Arcanine can't fly, so why should Komainumon be able to?" countered June, a bit annoyed.  
  
"And Pyroangemon's not much good against water based digimon, we know that already." Kyle added. Eevee bowed his head. Kyle knelt down and scratched the pokemon's head.  
  
"Ah, we handled it OK." Davis said. "And we had a bit of help from these two." he added, looking at Seadramon and Depthmon.  
  
"Kyle told me about digimon." Edward said, walking over. "I never thought...what's happening?" As he neared Seadramon, the digimon glowed and shrank. A part of Seadramon broke off and flew to Edward's hand, forming a digivice. The rest of Seadramon vanished, leaving a small birdlike digimon in his place.  
  
"Alright Edward!" Ryo said, slapping the trainer on the shoulder.  
  
"Guys?" Melody said, looking at Depthmon. The digivice she had gotten earlier was glowing, as was Depthmon. He glowed and shrank as well, leaving...  
  
"Another Veemon? Cool!" Davis said.  
  
Davis' Veemon walked over. "Welcome to the team! I'm Veemon."  
  
"Nice to meet you Veemon, I'm Veemon!"  
  
"Two Veemon?" Salamon asked wearily. "I thought one was a handful. And how will we tell them apart?"  
  
"Maybe call one Veemon and the other V-mon?" Armadillomon suggested.  
  
"That's silly." Cody answered. "They still sound alike."  
  
"It works for pokemon." Edward noted.  
  
The two Veemons looked at each other, grinning. "Vee? VeemonVeemon Vee!"  
  
"MonVeemon? Vee! VeemonVee!" About then, the rest of the group cracked up.  
  
Next Episode  
  
Phantomon has been sent to destroy Ken. Why is Ken being targetted, and can the digidestined stop Phantomon in the Real World? Next time on Digimon: Digicross. 'Target: Ken.'  
  
Digicross Extra Special  
  
"Why Tai shouldn't Eavesdrop!"  
  
==Tokyo, a few hours before Things get all pear shaped in the preceeding episode  
  
"Mom? I'm home!" Tai said, entering his house. He had just gotten back from the library, some books for an essay he was writing under his arm. He'd 'forgotten' to mention that he had stopped by Sora's home and talked with her for an hour, too.  
  
"Tai, you're late! Did everything go alright at the library?" Tai nodded, trying to keep his face straight. "Well, Izzy and Yolei came over while you were gone. They're in Kari's room, and asked that they not be disturbed, alright?"  
  
Tai blinked. "OK, sure."  
  
"Oh, Tai? The next time you're at Sora's, could you tell her mother that I have that book she wanted to borrow? She did ask about it when you were there today, yes?"  
  
"D'OH!"  
  
==  
  
Tai headed back to his room, planning to spend the rest of the afternoon taking notes. As he walked by the door to Kari's room, he heard..something. Curious, he put an ear against the door and listened.  
  
Kari's voice: "Are you sure about this? I've never done this sort of thing before."  
  
Yolei: "Relax. Izzy and I have done this dozens of times. It's a lot easier once you've done it a few times."  
  
What the heck? Tai wondered, kneeling down, one hand on the doorknob.  
  
Kari: "Well, if you're sure. What should we do first?"  
  
Izzy: "Just lift that off. Oh, make sure everything's unhooked." Kari agreed. Tai heard something being moved, but couldn't make out what. A feeling of dread was rising in the pit of his stomach.  
  
Kari: "OK, now what?"  
  
Yolei: "Undo that clip on the back...yeah, that's right. OK, that should just pull off now."  
  
Kari: "And this?"  
  
Izzy: "Squeeze that, and pull...that's it. Careful now, don't yank it out."  
  
Yolei: "What'd I tell you? Easy as anything." The doorknob was starting to deform under Tai's grip, but he didn't notice. "Okay, next step."  
  
Kari: "That's it? I thought it'd be bigger, like in those ads on TV."  
  
Still listening, Tai's eye had started to twitch, and small beads of sweat formed on his forehead.  
  
Izzy: "Trust me, size isn't the issue here. Once this goes in, you won't believe how fast it'll go."  
  
Yolei: "The trick is to have a really light touch. If you force this in, it'll do a lot of damage."  
  
"ALRIGHT, WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE!" Tai screamed, charging into Kari's room. As he charged in, he noticed a computer on the floor. Dad's computer, he realized. One of those new ones with the special bit that you didn't have to force a microchip into.  
  
"Uhhh...we're upgrading dad's computer?" Kari replied, unsure how to react to this.  
  
"Yeah, for your parents' anniversary on Monday? Why...?" Izzy asked, also confused.  
  
Yolei blinked, trying to figure out why Tai had charged in like a madman. She went over everything that had happened, then she started looking at what they were saying all the time Tai was probably listening in...  
  
It started with a small snort. Then, a second later, Yolei was doubled over, howling with laughter as she figured it out. Redfaced, Tai left the room, mumbling something about an essay he had to write. Yolei continued laughing for some time, not willing to explain what was so funny to Kari or Izzy. To her, that made it all the more funny.  
  
==The end (for now) 


	24. Target Ken

Digimon: Digicross Episode 23  
'Target Ken'  
  
==Stone Town  
  
"I'm off, dad! I'll be back later tonight!"  
  
Mikhail Ellison, Kyle's father, looked into Kyle's room. Kyle was just setting the   
computer up so he could transport himself to the world where the other digidestined lived.   
One in particular…"Date with June again?"  
  
"Umm…It's just a movie! That's all!"  
  
Mikhail barely hid his laughter. Kyle had been seeing June even before the girl had   
become one of the digidestined. "Well, whatever you do, try to keep the noise down,   
alright?"  
  
"DAD!"  
  
Mikhail doubled over, unable to keep from laughing. As he bent, he winced slightly;   
his knee, which had been injured in a collision with a drunk driver, was acting up again.   
Kyle didn't notice this, turning to face the computer and activating the digital gateway.   
Mikhail tried to stand up, but his knee gave out, causing the older man to stumble,   
colliding with Kyle just as the portal opened.  
  
==Izumi household. Izzy's house, not Oritomo Izumi's house, that is. Just so I'm clear…  
  
Izzy looked at the screen light up. Kyle was coming over, he remembered. He had   
planned on talking to the other digidestined about a photo that Ryo had given him. He   
could catch Kyle now, before he left to meet June. He did say that his pokemon would all   
be at Primary Village today.  
  
So it was that Izzy was quite surprised when Kyle and his father came through the   
portal, managed to cartwheel in midair, and slam down on the floor of Izzy's bedroom.  
  
"Muh…Mister Ellison?" Izzy gasped. How…?"  
  
==Tokyo Cemetery  
  
Cody and his grandfather, Takeshi Hida, walked down the path to the exit of the   
cemetery. The two had spent the morning at Cody's father's gravesite, remembering. Upamon   
was there too, the boy explaining the significance of the place they were going to, and   
that Upamon would have to be extra quiet today. When they came here, the same time every   
year, his grandfather would tell Cody another story about his father. Hiroki had died when   
Cody was very young, so the boy knew very little about his father.   
Still…  
  
"Grandfather?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You told me that my father was…killed protecting someone. But you never told me   
who that person was."  
  
"As much as I would like to, I promised the person that I would not tell you. It is   
something that he wished to tell you himself, when he thought the time was right."  
  
Cody thought about that for a second. "I see." The two walked on in silence,   
approaching the exit. As they neared, Cody heard something.  
  
Upamon peeked out of the bag on Cody's shoulder. "I hear Minomon!" he whispered to   
Cody.  
  
"Minomon? Then that means…"  
  
Ken Ichijouji, Minomon balanced on his shoulder, stepped into view. His head was   
hung low, looking at the ground. It was Minomon that spotted Cody. "Ken! Look who's   
here!"  
  
Ken looked up. "Cody?" he whispered.  
  
==Motomiya Household  
  
"Well? How do I look?" June, dressed up for her date with Kyle, stepped into   
Davis' room.  
  
"Do I look like a fashion critic, June?" Davis complained, pretending not to pay   
attention. He was still uneasy about Kyle dating his sister, even after all this time.   
"Look, if Kyle tries something, just send a message and I'll have Exveemon take him apart."  
  
"Davis! Kyle's the sweetest boy I've ever met! If you're so worried, why don't you   
come with us?"  
  
"Yeah, like I'd go to some sappy romance movie."  
  
"Oh? Maybe you could bring that girl you met. Melody, right?" June asked, smiling.  
  
"Hey, she's just someone I met, alright? I don't go after someone at first sight.   
Like some people I know." Davis' reply was half hearted at best.  
  
"Don't you believe in love at first sight?" June had gotten used to it; she had   
learned that Davis was just worried about her, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit   
it. "Alright, I'll be home by midnight."  
  
"Make it sundown."  
  
"June?" Motomiya Akiko stepped into Davis' room as well. "Oh, June, you look   
lovely!"  
  
"Thanks mom! See, Davis? Some people know how to say nice things."  
  
"Now June, you know your brother's just worried about you. Now you be careful and   
be back by sundown."  
  
June sighed. "Yes mom." The three stepped into the living room. Akiko heard a   
knock at the door. "That must be him now. Kenta, can you get it?"  
  
Motomiya Kenta sighed, getting up. "Yes dear. Not right, haven't even met the   
boy's family yet…" Forcing himself to stop grumbling, he opened the door. "Welcome back,   
Kyle. And this would be…?"  
  
June and Davis both gasped. "Mr. Ellison?" Davis stammered.  
  
"Oh, you're Kyle's father? What a coincidence, we were just talking about you."   
Akiko said, throwing a look at her husband. "Please, come in!"  
  
"Of course. Kyle, why don't you and June go ahead. You won't be that long will   
you?"  
  
"Only a few hours." June answered.  
  
"Oh, and you've come all this way." Akiko said. "Feel free to stay as long as you   
want. Davis, why don't you go with your sister?" she added, nearly cracking up as she saw   
June's near-panicked reaction. "Izzy's house is on the way to the theater, isn't it?"  
  
"Umm…yeah…"  
  
==Tokyo, generic park. Couldn't think of a good name, sorry.  
  
"I see." Takeshi Hida said quietly. The three had gone to a small park near the   
cemetery, where Ken had re-told the story of how he had become the Digimon emperor, and   
how, through Wormmon's sacrifice, he had been pulled out. He had also mentioned some   
things that Wormmon had not told the other digidestined that day when Ryo reappeared in   
Ken's life.  
  
"I haven't been to Sam's gave since…It happened." Ken admitted. "I just felt like I   
had to come."  
  
"Understandable." Takeshi replied. "What will you do now?"  
  
"Now?"  
  
"Grandpa, he's a digidestined now."  
  
"Not 'now' Cody. Ken always was a digidestined, as were you. Even before you found   
Oopsiemon."  
  
"That's Upamon!" Upamon, who was playing with Minomon, yelled.  
  
"I think Cody's mother might disagree, if she found out who really knocked over that   
bowl of soup last night!" Takeshi smirked, recalling the incident. "Ken merely made a   
mistake. Isn't that right?"  
  
"It doesn't excuse what I did."  
  
"And no one will excuse it." Takeshi replied bluntly.  
  
"Grandpa!"  
  
"All you can do," Takeshi continued on, ignoring Cody, "is try to make up for what   
you've done. What you do and how much effort you put into it is all that matters."  
  
"I-"  
  
"As much as I hate to break up this touching scene, there is still some unfinished   
business to take care of."  
  
The three humans stood up, looking around. "Who said that?" Cody demanded.  
  
"I did." Phantomon answered, ghosting out of a tree. "The former Emperor has a few   
things to answer for, namely failing the Dark Ocean." Phantomon swung his scythe casually,   
not caring what it hit. "Please tell me you'll go quietly. I'd hate to think I got called   
back from the dead to deal with a bunch of whiny humans."  
  
==  
  
"Demon, why bother with that failure?"  
  
Demon glanced at Arukenimon. "Because he is a loose end. And he may still be able   
to access this dimension, should he learn how to control the Dark Spore that is still   
inside of him. Still…"  
  
"What is it? Phantomon's an Ultimate Digimon, and there's no way that Ryo could get   
to Ken in time for them to DNA digivolve. All the other digidestined are occupied, and the   
best those two could manage are an oversized housefly and a four legged yellow paperweight.   
Phantomon's an ultimate Digimon, and he brought help with him."  
  
"Perhaps. But these digidestined are not to be underestimated. They've fought   
against stronger opponents and won before. In any event, it should be an interesting   
match."  
  
Sneasel looked up. "Don't you care if Phantomon wins?"  
  
"Of course I do. And if he fails, he was obviously too weak to be useful. I expect   
the same from all my subjects, and am myself no exception."  
  
Sneasel didn't reply.  
  
==Izumi home  
  
"His dad's here?" Yolei asked.  
  
"I'm as stunned as you are." Izzy replied. "I can't understand why, either. All   
this time we thought that only someone with a digivice could use a digiport. This could   
change everything. Davis, what were they doing when you left?"  
  
"Getting introduced." Davis growled. "Of course, they hit it right off. They're   
probably planning the whole wedding ceremony right now!"  
  
"Uhh…Davis?" TK tried to calm Davis down.  
  
==  
  
Phantomon dodged the arrows and missiles easily. "Please, is that the best you've   
got?"  
  
"We're only just starting!" Nohemon snapped. "Night Shade!" The beams of black   
energy slammed into Phantomon.  
  
Eyes narrowing, Phantomon charged in, scythe in front of him. With a grunt, he   
swung at the two armoured Digimon, putting the two on the defensive. "Get out of here!"   
Nohemon yelled to Ken and the others. 'We'll hold him off!"  
  
Reluctantly, Ken nodded, starting to back away. As he did, a circle of energy   
appeared around the three humans, trapping them! There was a sudden flare of power, and   
the three humans were wracked with pain.  
  
"What have you done to them?" Digmon demanded, launching a missile at Phantomon.  
  
Phantomon casually deflected the projectile. "As much as I'd like to take the   
credit, it was my friend Soulmon who supplied the magic act. Come on out, Soulmon."  
  
A cloud of mist came out of nowhere, and another Digimon stepped out of it. "So,   
how was my act, Phantomon?"  
  
"I'd say they're rolling in the aisles."   
  
Digmon stepped forward, ready to attack, but Nohemon stopped him. "Be careful." The   
puppet Digimon whispered. "That's Soulmon, a champion level virus type Digimon. He works   
with other ghost type Digimon, augmenting their power with his dark tricks. His special   
attack is Necro Magic, which attacks the mind and soul of his opponent."  
  
"How do you know that?" Digmon asked.  
  
"Later." In a louder voice: "I don't care if there's two or two hundred of you!   
Release them now!"  
  
"I already said Ken had to die today. Why is it that you good guys never listen   
anymore?"  
  
"That's it! GOLD RUSH!"  
  
"Death Charm!" A field of energy stopped Digmon's attack. Another ghost Digimon   
appeared. "Hello there. I'm Bakemon, Soulmon's stunt double. If you thought that was a   
neat trick, then try guessing what's under my sleeve. No idea? Try Hell's Hand!" A dark   
claw shot out and struck the two Digimon, knocking them back.  
  
"We have…to digivolve…" Nohemon gasped. "They're too strong for our armored forms."  
  
"Oh, it gets better." Phantomon taunted. "The three of us can combine our powers.   
Death Sentence!"  
  
"Necro Magic!"  
  
"Death Charm!" The three attacks combined, forming a sphere of energy in front of   
the Digimon. A portal formed, and a roaring sound could be heard coming out of it.  
  
"What are you doing?" Nohemon asked, suddenly afraid. He thought he recognized that   
roar.  
  
"Oh, just conjuring up an old friend. You see, with our powers in combination, we   
can summon someone that you'll just be dying to meet. Come forth, SKULL GREYMON!" With a   
second roar, the skeletal dragon exploded from the portal, eyes locked on the Digimon. So   
intent were the ghost Digimon on their summoning and fighting the Digimon, they failed to   
pay attention to what was happening in the circle.  
  
==  
  
"Come on, Grandpa, get up!" Cody gasped, trying to help the old man up. "We have to   
get out of here! Ken, help me!" Ken couldn't hear him. Although the circle affected all   
three of the humans, it was designed for Ken specifically, meaning that he received the   
full effect. In his mind, visions of his past crimes danced before him, taunting him.   
"Digmon…help!"  
  
"He can't!" Takeshi answered. "Those three ghosts have them in some sort of   
illusion. They're attacking something that we cannot see!"  
  
Cody scrambled over. "Ken, snap out of it!" The effort cost him. Cody staggered   
under the magical assault, and fell.  
  
"C…Cody…" Ken managed to whisper, mind still reeling. He staggered, almost passing   
out. Then, he felt a strange energy. Forcing his eyes open, he saw a faint glow coming   
from his shirt pocket. "M…my crest…" With an effort, he took the item out, clutching it.   
Kindness, he remembered. When have I ever been kind? Then he looked and saw Cody   
staggering to get up, trying to reach him. "Cody!"  
  
The crest flared. As it did, the magic of the circle began to weaken, cancelled by   
the power of Ken's crest.  
  
"The spell's weakening!" Soulmon yelled, seeing this.  
  
With a final flare, the spell circle vanished, allowing Cody, Ken, and Takeshi to   
stand up. "No more." Ken growled. "I did some terrible things as the Digimon Emperor, but   
I will not let that rule me for the rest of my life. Just….LEAVE US ALONE!" Ken's crest   
flared once more. As it did, Digmon and Nohemon glowed, reverting to their rookie levels.   
Then…  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to…Stingmon!"  
  
"Armadillomon, digivolve to…Ankylomon!" The two champion Digimon turned to face   
Skull Greymon.  
  
"Ignore whatever you see!" Ken screamed. "It's just an illusion, that's how their   
magic works! Attack the ghost Digimon!"  
  
"Sounds like good advice." Ankylomon rumbled, charging at Soulmon. Stingmon flew at   
Bakemon.  
  
"Are you alright Ken?" Cody asked.  
  
"I'm fine. But I've had it with being reminded of my past. I don't need any help   
with that. Least of all theirs."  
  
"Megaton Press!" Ankylomon jumped, rolled into a ball, and tried to land on   
Soulmon. The ghost managed to dodge, but was caught by Ankylomon's tail swipe as he tried   
to recover. Soulmon was knocked out.  
  
Stingmon quickly dispatched Bakemon, then turned on Phantomon. "I remember you."   
Stingmon snarled. "I saw you, torturing Ken when he first became the Emperor, twisting him   
and taking away his kindness. This is where you pay for what you've done!"  
  
Confused, Cody looked at Ken. "Stingmon?" Ken asked.  
  
Energy blade glowing bright red, Stingmon answered. "I couldn't do anything because   
of Arukenimon's threat. But they made sure I could watch as those three made sure every   
night was a living hell, and laughed as they knew I couldn't do anything to stop it." Ken   
could only stare, stunned by the rage in Stingmon's voice. "You're right. This is where   
it all ends. SPIKING STRIKE!" Stingmon made a viscous jab at Phantomon. The ghost   
Digimon blocked the shot, but the force wrenched his scythe out of   
his hands. A second blade appeared on Stingmon's other arm, which shot up and knocked   
Phantomon to the ground. Both blades out, Stingmon dove at Phantomon.  
  
"STOP IT!" Ken yelled. Stingmon did, blades just millimeters away from Phantomon.  
  
"He's right!" Cody yelled. "You proved your point! If you destroy him, you'll be   
no better than Phantomon was!"  
  
"I'd take the hint." Ankylomon said, looming over Phantomon.   
  
Phantomon was no fool; he knew that he'd lose if he tried to fight Ankylomon and   
Stingmon. But they were never his targets. With a gesture, Phantomon levitated his   
discarded scythe, and sent it spinning at Ken!  
  
"Ken, look out!" Cody yelled, knocking Ken to the ground. Cody fell on top of him,   
scythe just barely missing him.  
  
"Cody! Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's massive tail slammed into Phantomon, withdrawing   
only a split second before the ghost was impaled on Stingmon's energy blade. Phantomon   
discorporated.  
  
==  
  
"You could have called for help." Davis said, trying to hide his concern.  
  
"Yeah, we would have come!" Yolei added, not bothering to hide hers.  
  
"I'm sorry." Ken answered. "Everything happened so fast, neither of us had a   
chance."  
  
"I'm sorry too." Wormmon said sadly. "I know you didn't want me to finish Phantomon   
off."  
  
"There was no choice." Takeshi said quietly. "I do not blame you, or Armadillomon."  
  
"But what now?" Davis asked. "Is everyone going to be gunning for Ken now?"  
  
"I do not think so, grasshopper." Takeshi answered, smiling as Cody and Davis looked   
at him oddly. "With friends like you, I do not think Ken has anything to worry about."  
  
"But if I'm a target, you might all be in danger. It would be best if I left."  
  
"Forget that!" Davis yelled. "We told you, you're one of us now! That means you're   
staying with us. Don't make me make that an order!"  
  
"Thank you General Davis." Yolei said dryly. There was another roar. Looking up,   
the group saw a large red lizard flying towards them, Ryo riding him. Beside him,   
Cyberarcanine closed in, Kyle and June on his back. "Took them long enough."  
  
"I think we got them out during the really romantic part of the movie." Kari   
whispered to Yolei.  
  
"What do you mean 'romantic'?" Davis demanded. "Kyle! Get down here right now!" he   
shouted. He stopped a second later, as Ken started laughing at the whole scene.  
  
Next Episode:  
  
While Kyle tries to practice his rusty pokemon catching skills, Izzy talks to   
Baihumon and Professor Oak in hopes of understanding what's been going on in the digital   
world. Mysteries are uncovered (and a rabid Rhydon chases Kyle) on the next episode of   
Digimon: Digicross…  
'The Day the Digiworld Changed.'  
  
==Digicross Bonus section==  
  
As I've worked on this story, I've often had parts written that, for whatever   
reason, I didn't include in the final cut of the movie. There have been a lot of reasons,   
including story size, pacing, and overall 'fit' of the sequence into the overall story.   
What goes below are some of those (drumroll) deleted scenes!  
  
(Sounds of a scuffle)  
Actually, he's just padding the story out a bit  
(More scuffle)  
OK, who let Monodramon in here!?  
  
Ahem..  
  
OK, this first one is from Digicross episode 13, just after Myotismon gets his much-  
deserved ejection from the storyline. I had a flashback scene written up, but for various   
reasons, I didn't include it in the final version.  
  
(He actually forgot to put it in)  
(Shut up, Monodramon! Why did Stuart leave you with ME?)  
  
==2 years ago, Digital World  
  
Mummymon looked around the desert, saw nothing. "Arukenimon, are you sure this is   
where we were told to go?"  
  
"Stick a band-aid in it, gauze brain! This is where the boss said that unusual   
power source was" Arukenimon snarled back. Angrily, the digimon looked around. Their   
maker, Oikawa had said that there was a powerful energy source nearby; if they could find   
and control it, they could bypass that plan with that boy, what was his name...Kyo? Kirk?   
Ken, that was it.  
  
"So, you've finally come." Arukenimon and Mummymon whirled around, searching for   
the source of the voice. They finally saw it; Daemon seemed to ripple into existence   
before their eyes. "Ahh, you have Myotismon's handiwork all over you" the demonic digimon   
bowed to Arukenimon. "And I must say, his skill has not degraded. Shame his judgement   
has. But death will do that to a digimon, I suppose."  
  
"Who are you" Mummymon demanded. "And why are you making eyes at MY Arukenimon?"  
  
"Yours? Fool. I am Daemon, Lord of the Dark Ocean. What is not mine, I take.   
What I cannot take, I destroy." He regarded Mummymon casually. Sighing, he said "And   
since you have no mind to take, I must destroy you. CHAOS FLARE!" A bolt of flame   
enveloped Mummymon, who screamed in silent agony. Daemon turned to Arukenimon. "And for   
you, a choice. Join me, or join," he indicated the flaming visage of Mummymon, "him."  
  
Arukenimon considered herself a practical woman; besides, Mummymon was getting to be   
a real pain. "Where do I sign?"  
  
Daemon chuckled slightly. "Oh, to see Myotismon's face when he learns of this...a   
moment, please." Daemon pulled out a small red and white sphere, pressed a button, causing   
the artifact to expand. "A memento of my last defeat" Daemon explained. "I must have   
a...discussion with this thing's owner when I see him next." Daemon threw the pokeball at   
Mummymon; on impact, it split in two, and Mummymon was pulled inside it. As Arukenimon   
watched, the ball resealed itself, then a chain necklace, seemingly made out of gold,   
appeared and attached itself to the ball. The necklace floated over to   
Arukenimon, dropped over her head and around her neck. She could make out the faint   
'click' of the lock sealing. "Think of it as a reminder." Daemon said. "Now, here's what   
I want you to do..."  
  
==  
  
Here, I had a different introduction in mind for Ryo in episode 14. As with   
everything else, it started with a pokemon battle…   
  
==  
  
==Pokemon world  
  
Kyle faced off against the mystery trainer, ready to fight. "So, how do we do   
this?"  
  
The boy ran a hand through short brown hair. "Three on three battle works fine.   
I'll lead off with Nidoking!" The Nidoking appeared, standing some five feet tall, long   
tail swiping the ground and looking menacing.  
  
"That's bigger than the average Nidoking" Kyle remarked. The boy smiled, bowed a   
bit. "Alright, I'll call Marowak!" Marowak appeared, apparently unconcerned by the size   
of his opponent. "Bone Club!" Marowak charged, swinging his club at Nidoking.  
  
"Nidoking, Curse power-up!" Roaring, Nidoking began glowing with a fierce yellow   
aura. He seemed to ignore Marowak's attack, instead singing his tail around and driving   
the ground type back. "Now show him your Dynamic Punch!" Nidoking's punch knocked out   
Marowak with one shot. "Not bad, huh? Curse slows a pokemon down, but it drastically   
upgrades his defense and attack strength."  
  
"It's not over yet. Scizor, go!" The bug pokemon appeared, challenging Nidorino.   
The poison pokemon struck first, but Scizor easily avoided the blow. "Nice try, but this   
time, I have the edge. Nidorino's a poison type, which is at a big disadvantage against a   
steel type!" (and the writer has been watching that Yu-Gi-Oh dub again...gah -ed) Scizor   
and Nidoking feinted around, each waiting for the other to make the first move.  
  
"Nidoking, Dynamic Punch!"  
  
"Scizor, dodge and counter with Steel Dance!" Scizor dodged the punch, flared his   
wings out, and, spinning rapidly, jumped at the pokemon and landed a hail of blows on   
Nidoking. Even with Nidoking's improved defenses, the poison pokemon still fell. "I   
taught Scizor to combine his Swords Dance technique with his Steel Wing attack. It's   
similar to the Curse technique, but Scizor doesn't suffer a speed loss." (Must stop Yugi-  
ing...-ed)  
  
Kyle's opponent grinned. "Well, then let's raise the stakes a little, with a power-  
up I learned a few years back. Charmeleon, go!" Another pokemon appeared, this one red   
with a flame burning brightly on its tail. "And now..." the boy pulled out a small device   
that Kyle recognized instantly.  
  
"That's...a digivice! Where did you get that?"  
  
The boy stopped. "You know what this is?" Kyle pulled out his own digivice.   
"You're the guy I saw on TV! The one at Mount Moon! Hey, you have that Growlithe with   
you? Let's digivolve them and really go at it!"  
  
Kyle was about to oblige, even managed to call the puppy pokemon out, when a voice   
stopped the fight. "Kyle Ellison!" June walked into the clearing, miffed. "In case you   
forgot, we do have a lunch date today!" Beside him, Growlithe quietly muttered "Busted."  
  
A small red pokemon walked in at that moment, followed by Eevee. Seeing June, he   
spoke. "Geez, Kyle. Did you get carried away again?" Beside him, the small red pokemon   
made an inquisitive noise, wondering who all the people were.  
  
"Come here Magby" the boy said, motioning to the baby pokemon.  
  
"That is the most adorable pokemon I've ever seen!" June said. Catching Kyle   
relaxing a bit, she added, "Don't think you're off the hook, buster."  
  
"Ah nuts."  
  
"Don't blame him," the boy said, "I did challenge him. My name's Ryo Akiyama, and I   
think he and I have something in common."  
  
"A girlfriend as devastatingly gorgeous as I am?" Kyle and Ryo kept their faces   
carefully straight.  
  
==  
  
This was the first draft for part 15, also the first time Ash, Misty, and Brock make   
their appearance. Plus the return of Parrotmon…  
  
==  
Kyle, riding on Arcanine, kept up with Aquilamon, who was carrying June, her digimon   
Elecmon, and Yolei. Ahead of them, there was a dark cloud. Kyle could just make out   
something ahead. Aquilamon swept down, gliding alongside the pokemon.  
  
"Whatever it is, it's big. Can you make it out?"  
  
"Sorry." Aquilamon replied. "Even eagle eyes have their limits. We'll just have to   
deal with it when we get there."  
  
"The sooner, the better" Arcanine huffed, keeping pace with Aquilamon. "It'll be a   
rude shock to any pokemon trainers there."  
  
"Relax" Elecmon tried to calm everyone down. "Any rational person wouldn't stick   
around when something like this comes up."  
  
"Elecmon," June said, "we're talking about kids as young as 10, with an assortment   
of creatures of varying powers, out having the time of their lives, and you think they're   
going to be rational?"  
  
"In other words," Yolei added, "don't jinx it!"  
  
Kyle pulled out a pokeball. "Go, Eevee!" he called, releasing the evolution   
pokemon. Eevee glowed, and digivolved to Flareon. "I also have Scizor if we need extra   
firepower. Kinda wish Sora was here."  
  
Yolei felt the temperature drop a few degrees as she heard June ask "And why is   
that?"  
  
Kyle swallowed a bit, realizing he could have worded that better. "'Cause a mega   
digimon like Phoenixmon might come in handy, that's why."  
  
"OK, you're forgiven" June said. "Elecmon, we're getting close. You'd better   
digivolve too."  
  
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"  
  
==  
  
"What the heck is that thing?"  
  
"Who cares, it's attacking us! Pikachu, Thunder attack!" The electric pokemon's   
strongest attack did little more than spark against the monster's body. "Rrr. I thought   
flying types were weak against electric attacks!"  
  
Another boy, darker skinned, took a step back. "This is trouble. We'd better get   
out of here. Whatever that thing is, it's easily as strong as Mewtwo was when we saw him."   
Apparently disagreeing, the monster took a step closer, its clawed feet wrecking the stones   
beneath it. As it walked, its green feathered body shook under its own weight.  
  
"You two, scatter!" The trainer yelled. The Pikachu looked ready to fire another   
bolt as the monster reared up, ready to strike.  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!"  
  
"Fire Blast!"  
  
"Blast Rings!"  
  
"Fire Spin!"  
  
The combination of attacks impacted on the monster's side, driving it back.   
Aquilamon landed between it and the pokemon trainers there. "You'd better get out of   
here!" June called.  
  
"Yeah!" Kyle said, running up. "Trust me, this is no pokemon."  
  
"What is it anyway?" Arcanine growled.  
  
Kyle pulled out his pokedex. Pressing one of the buttons, a 3-D image of the   
monster appeared. "Parrotmon," it reported, "Ultimate level Data digimon. Additional   
augmentation noted."  
  
"Digimon" the redhead asked, curious.  
  
"Long story." Yolei said. "It's an Ultimate level digimon. We're gonna need   
Komainumon, you two."  
  
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"   
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw the youngest of the three trainers fall over,   
stunned at what he saw. (The author would like to apologize, but there are no plans to   
have Ash & co. become digidestined. Yet. -ed). "Longer story" he said to the boy, who   
nodded dumbly.  
  
"Should I go up too?" Flareon asked.  
  
"Not yet" June said. "Let's see how Komainumon does first."  
  
Komainumon was already grappling with Parrotmon. The two monsters exchanged blows   
for a few seconds, then separated. Komainumon fired off a Dragon's Fang, but Parrotmon   
blocked it with a swipe of his wing. "Fine! Celestial Edict!" Whirling his staff above   
his head, Komainumon charged one end with greenish energy, and fired it at Parrotmon.  
  
"Sonic Destroyer!" The two attacks collided in mid-air, knocking all the humans   
down with the combined explosion. Parrotmon charged back in, clawed hands swiping at the   
DNA digimon. The two grappled again, Komainumon getting a few bloody slashes on his chest,   
Parrotmon receiving a swift kick in the head.  
  
Parrotmon pulled back, seeing that he was evenly matched with his attacker.   
Spreading his wings, Parrotmon lifted off, trying to move away from Komainumon.  
  
"Are you OK?" Kyle yelled up.  
  
"Come on, he's getting away!" Yolei shouted.  
  
"I'd like to pursue, but there's a slight problem." Komainumon grunted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I can't fly."  
  
"..." Was Kyle's response. June and Yolei's "D'OH!" complemented it rather well.  
  
"Hey! You think I'm PROUD of that" Komainumon protested. "Leomon and Arcanine   
can't fly, what makes you think I can? Do the math already!"  
  
"Metal Greymon can fly" Yolei yelled back.   
  
"DO I LOOK LIKE A 'BORGED DRAGONITE?"  
  
"Oh for...I'll handle it" Flareon said, walking forward. "Flareon, digivolve   
to...Pyroangemon!" The fire angel flew up after Parrotmon, Aquilamon following him.  
  
"Gwah?" was the redhead's gasp. "Don't tell me. Long story." Kyle and June   
nodded.  
  
"Must be some story" the trainer with her said. "I've never seen a Flareon evolve   
like that." With a slight pause, the boy went on. "Can you teach Pikachu to do that?"  
==  
  
Small bit from Digicross 21…  
  
==  
"Well," Davis replied, looking over the ocean, "I think I'll check out that market.   
I'm starved!" The old Davis was back now, at least on the surface. "Hey, Veemon!" he   
called. "You coming?"   
  
"Sure thing Davis, just let me...yaaahhhh!" Veemon, not paying attention to where   
he was walking, tripped and fell off the edge into the water. Davis ran over to where   
Veemon had fallen off. "Veemon! Are you OK?"  
  
"Problem!" Veemon shouted, surfacing. As he did, a Wooper surfaced behind him,   
curious about the digimon that almost landed on him. Patamon flew over and tried to lift   
Veemon out of the water.  
  
"You've been snacking again, Veemon!" Patamon complained as he tried to lift Veemon   
out of the water.  
  
"Pull harder!" Veemon shouted. "I think he might-"  
  
As Veemon spoke, the Wooper dove underwater, stopping when he was underneath Veemon.   
Deciding it was time for Water Gun practice, the pokemon drew in some water...  
  
The jet of water was strong enough that Veemon was pushed out of the water, hit   
Patamon, and carried the two digimon back onto the pier. Patamon landed first, Veemon   
landing on top of him a second later.  
  
"I think I hurt something." Veemon groaned.  
  
"Yeah, me." Patamon replied, also groaning.  
  
==  
  
One of the original ideas I had for Digicross Tamers was for Kyle to have moved away   
from his initial dream to be a police officer, and to start working in a pokemon center   
along with Joe. Here's how I had originally planned Digicross Tamers part 4 to start:  
  
==  
"How's everything going?"  
  
"Oh, fine. Two kids brought in their pokemon after challenging the gym leader. A   
Pidgey sprained a wing, and a Cubone pulled her arm practicing her Bonemarang technique."   
The voice was dull, lifeless.  
  
"Good. Go home."  
  
Kyle Motomiya blinked, looking at Joe Kido. The two had taken over the pokemon   
center in Stone Town after Nurse Joy had announced her retirement. Joe, and his wife Lisa,   
had moved near where Kyle and June lived, and had been keeping an eye on the couple when   
Hitomi had gone missing.  
  
"But...there's still..."  
  
"You," Joe replied firmly, "are taking the rest of the day off. And Lisa's telling   
June the same thing at the Gym. Go to your wife, be there for each other, and we'll handle   
everything else."  
  
"Thanks. Has Izzy..." Kyle trailed off, not wanting to ask.  
  
"Nothing yet. All of the guardians have combed the Digital World and the Dark   
Ocean. Next, we go...elsewhere." Kyle blinked, not following Joe. "Gennai once told us   
that there are dozens of worlds. We'll just keep looking 'till we find her."  
==  
  
Notice how I made June the Gym Leader? :?  
  
In part 6 of Tamers, I had a slightly different idea in mind for Renamon when she   
met Calumon and Unown…  
  
==  
  
==Tokyo, Present day  
  
While Rika was in school, Renamon wandered around the city, darting from shadow to   
shadow, watching the mass of humanity go about its daily routine. Rika had left fairly   
clear orders for Renamon. To wit, the digimon was to look for Calumon and Unown, see where   
they were hiding and, if possible, where Unown had come from. Calumon's story about where   
Unown was from had left too many questions for Rika and Renamon, and they needed answers.  
  
Renamon wasn't sure what and drawn her to the park; she was not looking forward to   
another fight with Eevee or Guilmon, or Terriermon for that matter. Something about   
Calumon's disposition made it more likely he'd be here, she rationalized. Most of the   
children were at school at that time of day, making it easier for Renamon to move without   
being seen.  
  
Then, she saw them. Calumon was playing on the slide, and Unown was hovering there,   
watching. Renamon couldn't quite figure out what Unown was doing; the odd noise she heard   
from it could have meant anything. So focused on Unown was she that she lost track of   
Calumon.  
  
"TAG!" Renamon nearly fell out of the tree she was hiding in. Somehow, the small   
digimon had managed to spot Renamon, sneak around behind her, and tap her on the shoulder.   
How did he do that?, Renamon wondered.  
  
"Come on! Stop hiding up there and play with us!" Calumon pointed to the slide and   
the seesaw. "We tried the see saw but Unown was too light and I was too light too! But   
the slide's a lot of fun, especially if you can do this!" Calumon extended his ears and   
began flying around.  
  
==Tokyo Junior High School. If I knew the name, I'd use it, but I don't, so there.  
  
Takato, Henry and Hitomi were in an unused classroom at lunchtime. Henry had tacked   
a 'test in progress' sign on the outside so they wouldn't be disturbed. "Look," he said,   
"Takato and I want to help, but you have to trust us, alright? I promise, nothing you tell   
me will go beyond these doors."  
  
"Yeah" Terriermon added, sticking his head out of Henry's backpack. "Moumantai. We   
can keep a secret." Takato nodded too, unsure what was going on. He hadn't heard how Henry   
had deduced Hitomi's secret.  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Alright. As you guessed, I'm not from this world. I'm really from   
a place we call the Pokemon World, which is linked to the digital world you see on TV.   
Though it's about 25 years later, and a lot of what happened on the TV show didn't in the   
Digital World I know."  
  
"So, how did you get here?"  
  
"I don't know," Hitomi answered. "I was using a digital gateway to go home, and the   
next thing I know, I'm coming out of Ms. Asaji's computer."  
  
Henry thought about it. "Well, digimon have been appearing here for some months   
before you came here, so I don't think the two are connected. Did any other...what did you   
call them?"  
  
"Pokemon."  
  
"Right. Did any other pokemon come through with you?"  
  
Hitomi shook her head. "Not that I saw."  
  
Takato finally recovered enough to speak. "Um, did I just switch planets here? Are   
you saying that you actually came from the same place that all the digidestined on the TV   
show did?"  
  
Ms. Asaji warned me about this, Hitomi thought to herself. "Yes. And then some."  
  
"Wow," Takato said. "I've got a million questions for you. I mean, if you're up to   
it. Not that-"  
  
"Stop it, already" Henry chastised Takato. He resisted the urge to call him 'goggle   
head'. Turning back to Hitomi, he said, "Hey, don't worry. We'll find a way to get you   
home. I'm just glad I was right. I was afraid I might be going crazy or something."  
  
==  
[Impmon recall sequence II]  
==  
  
Rika ran out of the school, having felt Renamon's call. Pulling out her digivice,   
she checked the compass on it, pointing her to Renamon. "Figures it'd be the park again,"   
she muttered. She didn't bother to go home and change or get her cards, not planning to   
get into a battle. Besides, she figured Renamon should be strong enough now that she   
doesn't need any help. Or me, came the disturbing thought.  
  
Shaking it off, Rika entered the park. Already, kids were starting to filter in,   
leaving school and getting a few hours of playtime in before having to go home for the day.   
Following the signal, Rika finally came across her partner, who was standing watch over   
Calumon and Unown. Unown hovered in midair, doing nothing, while Calumon was...asleep?   
Looking at Renamon, she noticed that the digimon was a bit disheveled, as if she had been   
running around all day.  
  
"Don't. Ask." Renamon said firmly.  
  
== 


	25. The day the digiverse changed

==A few miles north of Viridian City  
  
It had started well enough. Kyle had been asked by Professor Oak to leave Growlithe, Eevee, and Scizor at his lab so they could be checked more thoroughly. He had been told that Crystal, whose Eevee, Kurt, had gained the ability to digivolve, was coming over, and he wanted to do a comparison between the two pokemon.  
  
The three pokemon had agreed to stay behind, and Kyle had no real trouble with it. But it also left him without three of his strongest pokemon. No problem, he figured. He still had Ivysaur, and his other pokemon needed some work too. He had swapped in Machop, Marril, Oddish, Marowak, and his Gastly, Windy, in. A good line up for any trainer to have.  
  
So it was perfectly natural that, a few hours after leaving the Viridian City Pokemon Center, Marowak was asleep from a run in with a Venomoth, Machop had fainted after picking a fight with a Primeape that knew Counter, Windy was frozen after getting Metronomed by a passing Clefairy, and there was an enraged Rhydon chasing him. Ivysaur was running beside him, and he had Oddish in his arms.  
  
"Ivysaur!"  
  
"I know, just KEEP RUNNING!" Kyle yelled back. The two had a tricky time keeping their speed up; they had to pick through a lot of undergrowth. Rhydon didn't have that problem; anything smaller than a large tree got knocked over. There was another loud crash, which Kyle assumed was the Rhydon picking up speed. He ran a few more yards, then realized that there was no more loud crashing behind him. He stopped, looking back.  
  
Rhydon was being restrained by..."Leomon?"  
  
"So, how's the master trainer?" June's voice came, slightly mocking.  
  
Kyle sighed. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."  
  
"Oddish."  
  
"Ivysaur." The two pokemon agreed.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Digimon: Digicross episode 24  
-The day the digiverse changed  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"So, we're off to the Orange Islands?" Davis asked. "Sounds like a great place to work on my tan!"  
  
Yolei sighed. "We're going there to fill in Melody and Edward about what's happening in the digital world, not go on some tropical vacation. Or to see your girlfriend."  
  
Kari held back a chuckle. She'd noticed Davis had been thinking about the newest female member of the digidestined a lot lately, though he'd always claimed it was because she had a Veemon too. Still..."And why are you going, Yolei?"  
  
Yolei scrambled for an answer. "Because Ken and I are better at explaining things together...I mean, we're a better team than if Davis goes alone." Now Davis was grinning.  
  
Ryo sighed melodramatically. "Then I'd better go along, seeing as I don't have a romantic interest." He walked over to Ken, and put his arm around Ken's shoulders. "Besides, someone's gotta chaperone you on your big date."  
  
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Yolei yelled.  
  
"Maybe you should ask the evil cute guy here." Ryo replied sweetly. Ken's face went red.  
  
"I believe it was 'cute evil guy'." Hawkmon pointed out. Veemon, standing beside Hawkmon, started sniggering. "Are you sure about this, Ryo? Charmeleon isn't done with his tests yet."  
  
"Darn straight!" the fire lizard called from the next room. "I'm in here being poked and prodded, and you're off to one of the top vacation spots in the world! How fair is that?"   
  
"Very." Ryo replied, deadpan. He walked over to the computer, and opened a portal to the Orange Islands. "Shall we go then?" he asked, as he vanished into the portal. Davis followed Ryo in, as did Hawkmon and Veemon. Thoroughly embarrassed, Yolei dragged Ken to the digital gateway and went through.  
  
TK, who had been watching the whole sequence of events silently, let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I think I feel sorry for Ryo; Yolei's probably going to tear him apart, after all that."  
  
"She won't." Kari replied. "So, what are you going to do?"  
  
"Well, Kyle said it might be a good idea to show the new digidestined around the local pokemon center, so they get an idea of what it's like if they ever wind up in one."  
  
Baihumon, who had arrived earlier, nodded. "The center in Stone Town's the best place to go for digimon, though the Nurse Joy there is making a point of circulating what she knows to the another centers around the Kanto region. Plus, we're going to take what we find out from all the digivolving pokemon to them as well. Oh, can I get one of you to go to the digital world? There's something odd happening near one of the destiny stones there."  
  
"Destiny stones?" TK asked.  
  
"Nexus of power in the digital world; look like giant stones shaped like the various crest insignia. They form anchor points in the digital world, keeping everything stable. We set them up ages ago, then rebuilt them shortly after the Dark Masters were destroyed and before Ken was turned against us." TK and Kari winced.  
  
"Well, I'll go, and I'll take Cody with me." TK offered.  
  
"Are you sure? I hear Crystal's going to be there." Kari teased.  
  
TK smirked. "Maybe you should go, then. I'm not sure I can trust you and Izzy all by yourselves in a big house."  
  
"Silly boy. Professor Oak will be there." In a slightly louder voice, Kari added "And I'm sure Izzy wouldn't dream of doing anything to me." There was a slight clatter in the next room as Izzy dropped the book he was reading.  
  
"Silly me." TK replied, still smirking. He sent an email to Cody, asking him to meet TK in the digital world. "Well, I'd better meet everyone, then I'll go to the digital world."  
  
"Say hi to Crystal for me." Kari said as she left the room. Holding back his laughter, TK went out a second door to the front yard.  
  
==  
  
Caryl walked down the dusty path. After the sights she had seen the last time she had visited this world, this was a bit of a letdown. Understandable, going from a bustling island with lots of Neat Stuff (tm) to a little town in the backwoods. Still, the scenery was nice.  
  
"The scenery is nice." Renamon noted.  
  
"Hmm?" Caryl looked up, lost in her thoughts. "Sorry. I was expecting something more...I don't know. Prima told me that this Professor Oak guy was supposed to be one of the top pokemon researchers around." There was a crashing noise a short distance ahead. "Eish?"  
  
The two travelers saw a boy and a small purple dragon come charging out of the undergrowth. "You HAD to insult those pokemon! All to impress that walking rosebush!" the boy yelled.  
  
"Her name was Bellossom!" the dragon replied. "I was just showing off, that's all!"  
  
"You got 30 Tauros chasing us!" A second later, the aforementioned Tauros blasted out of the undergrowth. "Did you have to call the leader a walking steak sandwich?"  
  
"It was funny at the time!"  
  
Caryl and Renamon watched the two run. As they stood there, two of the Tauros saw them, mistook them for potential enemies, and switched to them as Take Down practise. Caryl managed to get the obligatory 'Kyaaaa!' you see in a lot of anime with situations like this before Renamon grabbed her, and jumped clear of the oncoming Tauros. Renamon landed a few feet away, put Caryl down, and got ready to face the small Tauros group.  
  
==  
  
Stuart and Monodramon, you ask?  
  
"Magic Game!" The two found themselves levitating over the stampeding herd.  
  
Stuart looked at Monodramon, impressed. "I didn't know you could do that."   
  
"It was me, actually." Wizardmon said, also levitating. There were sounds of attacks being used, and the Tauros were slowly herded back to their pen.  
  
"Wizzy! How've you been?"  
  
"Doing better than you, from the looks of it. You must be Stuart." Wizardmon nodded to the human.  
  
"Hey up there!" Another boy, about Stuart's age, came into view. "Did you get them?"  
  
"I did, Seth. You can tell Kurt to put me down now."  
  
"He can hear you just fine." Crystal replied, also stepping into view. "I have to admit, it takes a special kind of digimon to make a whole herd of Tauros stampede." Beside her, Kurt relaxed his concentration, and Wizardmon slowly sank to the ground. A second later, Stuart did likewise.  
  
"Uh, Wizzy? Can I come down now?"  
  
"That depends..."  
  
==   
  
Renamon leaped over the Tauros again, giving it a good smack in the back of the head as she sailed over it. The beast, unable to stop, slammed into another tree.  
  
"Are you all right?" Caryl called to Renamon.  
  
"So far." Renamon replied. She saw movement behind Caryl. "Look out!"  
  
Caryl spun around, and saw a second Tauros eyeing her, head lowered, horns pointed right at her. "Uhhh....nice bull?"  
  
The second Tauros found the path to Renamon blocked by a red bug. "Back you go." Scizor said quietly, ready to battle if needed. The Tauros backed down, though his eyes stayed fixed on Scizor. A second bug, a Scyther and with an X shaped scar on its head, herded the two Tauros back to the pen. "Are you two all right?" Scizor asked.  
  
Caryl shuddered a bit at the odd metallic tone of the voice. "We're fine. What were those monsters?"  
  
"Tauros."  
  
"I could have handled them." Renamon said.  
  
Grinning, Scizor looked at her. "Of course you could have."  
  
==  
  
Izzy and Kari looked at the two maps. "So, the digital world resembles the pokemon world now?" Kari asked.  
  
Baihumon nodded. "Yes. When the digital world was reformatted after the Dark Masters were defeated, the digital world changed. I can only guess that there was still a link to the pokemon world, and the map of the digital world changed because of that link. I didn't see it until I was talking with Professor Oak."  
  
"Izzy commented that Infinity Mountain bore an amazing resemblance to Mount Moon." Professor Oak explained. "This Digital World has some unusual features to it."   
  
"You should have seen it when it was all converted into Spiral Mountain" Izzy replied. Baihumon shuddered, remembering what had happened. "*That* was almost surreal."  
  
==  
  
"Well, I'd like to welcome everyone here." TK said to the group. Everyone had gathered just outside the front door of Professor Oak's lab. "Maybe we could introduce ourselves, just so we remember who's who. I'm TK, and this is my partner, Patamon."  
  
Caryl raised her hand. "I'm Caryl, and...where's Renamon?" Everyone looked around.   
  
"I saw her head off with Scizor around the corner." Crystal said. "Oh, I'm Crystal, and this is Eevee, my pokemon." The Eevee on her shoulder yipped happily. She saw TK looking at her, and looked at her feet, face turning a light shade of red.  
  
"I'll see what Renamon and Scizor are up to." Wizardmon said, nodding to TK.  
  
"I'm Seth, Wizardmon's partner."   
  
"And I'm Stuart, and the floating dragon is Monodramon. Uhh, can he come down now?" Stuart looked at the small wizard. "I think he's about to throw up."  
  
"I promise, I'll never call you 'Wizzy' again." Monodramon begged.  
  
Wizardmon sighed. "All right." With a gesture, he dismissed the spell on Monodramon, who promptly dropped into the arms of a very affectionate Muk. Yes, Ash's Muk, if you're curious. As Monodramon started yelling (to the effect of "GETHIMOFFGETHIMOFFGETHIMOFFGETHIMOFFGETHIMOFFGETHIMOFF!") Wizardmon went around the corner of the building.  
  
==  
  
"Was that what I thought it was?" Tentomon asked, watching Renamon and Scizor get ready.  
  
Gatomon nodded. "They'll be peeling him off the oak tree, I think." In a louder voice: "Are you two sure about this?" Scizor and Renamon nodded.  
  
"They're not going to start fighting, are they?" Tracey asked, sitting beside the two digimon.  
  
"No, just showing off. Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into this younger generation." Tentomon sighed.  
  
"We might as well get it out of their systems." Gatomon said, smiling as Tracey's Scyther also sighed, mirroring Tentomon's mood. "Okay, first one to the top of the hill and back wins. Ready...GO!" The two monsters took off, both seeming to vanish, reappearing every few seconds. Tracey was already hunched over his sketchpad, scribbling furiously.  
  
Wizardmon walked casually over to the small group watching the race. "They seem to be in a hurry."  
  
"It was this or a full battle." Gatomon replied. "What did you do to Monodramon?"  
  
"I let him down. It's not my fault a Muk happened to be where he landed." Wizardmon replied innocently. "I believe he was latched rather firmly to an oak tree last time I saw him."  
  
"And...oh, it's a tie." Tentomon said, as Renamon and Scizor reappeared. Both were dusty and a bit battered, as if they had been outrunning a rockslide.  
  
"You could have told us the course went through a nest of Geodudes." Scizor complained.  
  
"I found it no great challenge." Renamon said quietly. Everyone else sighed.  
  
==  
  
Kyle looked over the small hill. After his pokemon had recovered, he had set out again, June and Elecmon going with him. "So, what are we looking for?" Elecmon asked.  
  
"I don't know." Kyle replied. "Lately, I've been hearing that there' something that's been driving pokemon in this direction. From the reports, it's an electric type, maybe an Electrode or Raichu. Whatever it is, it's fast, and powerful. The last two trainers that tried to go after it came back with all their pokemon knocked out from powerful electric attacks."  
  
"And you're going after that?" June asked. Kyle shrugged, grinning. "Boys." June sighed, causing Elecmon to snicker.  
  
"Being a pokemon trainer means going out into the deep woods and trying to catch the strongest pokemon you can. You have to be a bit nuts; why else would anyone willingly sit out in the middle of a forest in a rainstorm looking for pokemon that could easily use them for appetizers."  
  
"As I said," June replied, "boys."  
  
"If it wasn't for that," Elecmon pointed out, "you'd never have met Kyle. Or me, for that matter." June's face turned a faint shade of pink.  
  
Kyle smiled, realizing that Elecmon was right. He looked again at June; she was dressed in a pair of knee length beige pants, a short sleeved purple t-shirt, and a backpack. It occurred to him that that was the same outfit she had whenever she went to the digital world. His own outfit, gray pants, white t-shirt and a gray cotton jacket, was also unchanged when he went to the digital world.  
  
June noticed Kyle's looking at her. "See something you like?" she teased.  
  
Kyle's face went beet red. "I-I-I-I-I was just wondering...that is....gah." Kyle, thoroughly embarrassed, slumped down. June started laughing.  
  
After a few minutes, the two recovered enough. "I'm sorry." Kyle said quietly. "I was just...June, how come our clothes stay the same when we go to the digital world, and Davis, Cody, and Yolei's change?"  
  
"I asked Izzy about that." June replied. "I think he said it was something to do with how we saw ourselves. At least, that's how I think he explained it." As she spoke, she looked at her digivice. "When we first come to the digital world, our D-3's create a new outfit based on our self image."  
  
"Hm. I wonder how Ken made his Emperor outfit?" Elecmon wondered. "Hawkmon said he heard Yolei wondering about that a short time back."  
  
Kyle sighed, then looked over the hill again. A second later, he gave a strangled gasp, and froze still. Worried, June looked over the edge, wondering what he had seen.  
  
What she saw took her breath away. It looked like a giant yellow lion, with a narrow, electric blue tail. It had a white mane, with a thick wave of light purple hair streaming along its back. It appeared to have a white, four-pointed moustache, and had a hard, dark gray, triangular plate coming from the middle of the moustache to just over the top of his head. "What is that?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Raikou. The legendary pokemon of thunder." His voice had a bit of reverent terror in it. He started to move back when Raikou, catching their scents, looked at them, snarled, and charged up the hill at them!  
  
==  
  
"So, is everyone ready?" Tracey asked, as the group of digidestined left Professor Oak's place. "Kari and Izzy are staying behind to talk with Baihumon and Professor Oak about some things in the digital world, but the Professor asked me to show you around Pallet Town a bit. There's a pokemon center in town; you should be familiar with the place, since you'll be using it a lot when you come here." Tracey looked at Crystal. "Sorry if this gets too boring."  
  
Crystal shrugged, smiling. "That's OK. But where's TK?" Eevee, resting on her shoulder, nodded.  
  
Seth answered. "He said that Baihumon asked him and Cody to check something out in the digital world. Davis, Ken, Ryo, and Yolei are going to the Orange Islands to fill Edward and Melody in on everything that's happened, Kyle and June are near Viridian City, and Kari and Izzy are back at Professor Oak's place, keeping an eye on Charmeleon, Growlithe, and Eevee."  
  
Wizardmon looked up. "Baihumon? The guardian of the western realm of the digital world?"  
  
Monodramon looked impressed. "Now that's high company."   
  
Caryl looked at Renamon. "Guardian?"  
  
Renamon nodded. "There are four guardians of the digital world, all extremely ancient mega level digimon. Baihumon guards the western realm, Azulongmon guards the eastern realm, north is Ebonwumon's realm, and Zhuquiamon rules the south. But I thought the Dark Masters destroyed them."  
  
"Not quite, but they were severely weakened." Wizardmon answered. "It was those guardians that summoned the first digidestined children."  
  
"And not us?" Stuart asked. "How come we got picked later, if at all?"  
  
"That's what Baihumon and Professor Oak are trying to figure out." Tracey said. "The guardians only picked the original eight children; how everyone else was picked is still a mystery."  
  
==  
  
"So?" Kari asked. "How come the other children were picked?"  
  
"We haven't got a clue." Baihumon replied. "The only thing in common most of them have is that they all had an encounter with a digimon before getting a digivice. But that can't be enough of an explanation. You, Izzy, and the other original children were chosen because we picked you."  
  
Kari nodded. "I remember when those light spirits possessed me while Tai and Matt were fighting. It was because the eight of us had some special attribute, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yes." Baihumon replied. "Your digimon were chosen in a similar way. And the pokemon, in a way. Professor Oak?"  
  
Professor Oak took over. "We did a thorough check of all the pokemon that have displayed the ability to digivolve. I assume you know about DNA and how it is the blueprint, if you will, of all life?"  
  
"I think I heard something about it." Kari replied dryly.  
  
"Yes. Anyway, I discovered some interesting DNA sequences in the pokemon. Here," he called up an image on a computer screen, "is an image of Charmeleon's DNA. And here is an image of Agumon's DNA."  
  
"They're identical." Izzy said.  
  
Baihumon nodded. "All of the digital pokemon have copied digital DNA from digimon. Kyle's Eevee has elements of Gatomon's DNA, while Crystal's Eevee has Patamon's DNA in him. And Growlithe has some of Gabumon's DNA in it."  
  
"There's a bit more." A new voice said. Kari and Izzy looked at the newcomer. Tall, brown hair, handsome, and oddly familiar.  
  
"Gennai." Baihumon said. "Long time." Kari and Izzy looked stunned. The last time they saw Gennai, he was an old man, barely taller then the digidestined themselves!  
  
"Working out, and removing those Control Spires from my area. Kari, Izzy, you're looking well. I overheard what you were saying, and I have a bit more to add to that.  
  
"When Ryo first came to the digital world, the guardians had to adjust his pokemon so they could survive in the new world. To do that, we added in an extra DNA sequence to Charmeleon that allowed him to digivolve."  
  
"But that was just for him." Baihumon replied.  
  
"But the program, if you will, remained in effect, even after Ryo left for his world. When Kyle came to the digital world, it picked Eevee and Growlithe."  
  
"Why two pokemon?" Kari asked. "Except for Willis, every digidestined we met had only one partner."  
  
"Eevee was able to adapt his own DNA to the new environment, just as any Eevee can. Growlithe was actually picked by the program we left in the Digital world, but getting hit with that control ring messed things up. If that hadn't happened, Arcanine would have appeared a lot sooner."  
  
"So it was that program that picked the digiegg of loyalty for Growlithe?"  
  
"Not quite." Baihumon replied. "It just made him able to use a digiegg. Technically, any digimon who has a partner can use any digiegg he or she wants to. Just look at Ken; he was able to use Yolei's digiegg with no problem." Baihumon looked at Kari. "Ken does have the crest with him, yes?"  
  
"Gatomon said she gave it to Ken. And Cody said it helped them fight off Phantomon a short time ago."   
  
"Good. I'm glad at least one crest survived. Baihumon and I put a lot of work into that one. And the digiegg that went with it." Gennai grinned, remembering the work they had done.  
  
"You said that any digimon could use any digiegg?" Kari asked.  
  
"Well," Gennai said, "any digimon with a human partner and a D-3, but the digieggs can upgrade a digivice as needed. It's a shame Ken never got the digiegg of courage; I was proud of that one."  
  
"Davis did OK." Kari replied.  
  
Gennai nodded "True. Anyway, the crests were made for the original digidestined, while the digieggs could be used by any of the children. Maybe even the new kids. Each of the guardians worked on two crests and eggs; Baihumon here handled Hope and Sincerity, Azulongmon was in charge of Courage and friendship, Zhuquiamon took care of light and love, and Ebonwumon created the crests and eggs of reliability and knowledge. The last two, Kindness and Loyalty, we split between the four of us."  
  
Izzy looked at Gennai. "But who was supposed to get the crest and digiegg of loyalty? It was years before Kyle even came to the digital world."  
  
"Actually, it was Ryo. But the Dark Masters attacked and destroyed the crest of Loyalty and the digiegg of kindness. We were not able to finish the digivices, or tune all the digieggs to the chosen digimon; We could only finish three of them and store the digimon they were linked with in them."  
  
"Veemon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon." Izzy finished. "But how did Kyle get the digiegg, if it was meant for Ryo?"  
  
"It was when Charmeleon and Stingmon DNA digivolved; we realized that Ryo didn't need the digiegg, so we stored it in the digital world until it might be needed. Then Kyle came along, and Growlithe needed to digivolve, so, Kyle got the egg."  
  
"Why not Eevee?"  
  
"Well, Eevee adapted himself to the digital world; technically, Growlithe was picked. Although Eevee has done an excellent job himself. Still, it would have been interesting to see what Eevee would have become if he ever armour digivolved."  
  
==  
  
Elecmon returned Raikou's gaze, not threatening, but not backing down, either.  
  
"What does he want?" June asked.  
  
"I don't know." Elecmon replied. "I think I'm the first digimon he's ever seen."  
  
Raikou looked at Elecmon for another minute, then at Kyle and June. Hesitantly, Kyle took a step forward. Sensing the movement, Raikou fired a bolt of electricity, catching Kyle off guard, and flinging the trainer backwards!  
  
June ran over to where Kyle was. Elecmon growled and, with a flash, digivolved to Leomon. "You'll pay for that! FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" The attack shot out, but Raikou jumped over the attack, landing some distance away. The two monsters faced each other, committed to battle.  
  
"Kyle? Kyle, wake up!" June shook Kyle gently, trying to revive the trainer.  
  
After a second, Kyle woke up. "Wha---what happened?"  
  
"Raikou attacked you." June said. "Leomon's fighting him now." SHe pointed, and the two saw that Leomon was now wrestling Raikou, the digimon having pushed Raikou back so the pokemon was standing on his hind legs. Leomon had one arm under Raikou's throat, holding the digimon up, the other arm pulled back, level with his wait. He launched a second blast of energy, hurling the legendary pokemon back, over, and slamming it into the ground several yards away.  
  
Kyle tried to get up. "No!" he yelled.  
  
Leomon heard Kyle, spun to look behind him. Raikou took that opening to get up, and launch another attack, a ball of electricity that slammed into Leomon. Leomon staggered under the power of the attack, then stood up. "Kyle, are you all right?" he called, shaking off the effect of the attack.  
  
Kyle, with June's help, stood up. "I'm OK! Raikou," he yelled at the pokemon, "stop fighting! I'm not going to try to catch you, honest!" Raikou growled, apparently unconvinced.  
  
"I don't think he's listening." Leomon said, moving between Raikou and the two humans. "I suggest you back off." Leomon advised Raikou. "I'm not letting you harm them."  
  
There was a loud pop as Marowak came out of his pokeball. The small pokemon ran up, challenging Raikou, and ignoring Kyle's cry to get back in his pokeball NOW! Marowak shouted at Raikou, none of the others being able to follow what the bonekeeper pokemon was talking about. There was another sound, and the rest of Kyle's pokemon appeared, all staring firmly at Raikou. The other pokemon didn't speak, but their intention of defending Kyle and June was quite clear.  
  
==Pallet Town Pokemon Center, an hour later.  
  
"And over here is where we treat the seriously injured pokemon." Nurse Joy said, leading the group through the intensive care unit of the pokemon center.  
  
Caryl looked at some of the pokemon there. "These pokemon were all in battles?" She was looking at one pokemon, a Furret that had been badly wounded by something.  
  
Renamon looked at the pokemon Caryl was examining. "No, this one was taken by surprise. All of the damage is along the back and the rear of the pokemon."  
  
Nurse Joy nodded. "You're right. There's a pack of Houndour that live nearby, and they ambushed a trainer and his Furret as they were training. The boy's at the hospital getting stitches now." Caryl shuddered. "Pokemon training is dangerous, but there seems to have been a change; things like this never used to happen."  
  
"Why are we here anyway?" Monodramon whispered to Wizardmon.  
  
"Doubtless to remind all of us that this is not a game." Wizardmon leaned on his staff. "We're fighting to defend three worlds now, and we can't afford to make any mistakes."  
  
Seth looked around. "Hey, where'd Crystal go?"  
  
"I think she said she had to step out for a second." Stuart replied. "I figured she had to...you know..."  
  
==  
  
Crystal looked at the computer screen. Izzy had explained to the group how to search the digital world for the signals from individual digivices. Somehow, she knew TK was in trouble. She found TK's signal, and a portal near it. "Digiport open!"  
  
There was a bright flash, and Crystal felt herself pulled through the computer screen. A second later, she was in the digital world, standing by a small television, looking over a large flat plain. Checking her digivice, she found the direction TK's digivice was in. "Ponyta, GO!" Releasing the fire horse pokemon, she quickly jumped on and headed off.  
  
==  
  
"It looks like she used the digital portal." Nurse Joy said, checking the computer. "But I have no idea where she'd go."  
  
"I'd guess she went after TK." Stuart said. "But why would...ah, I think I can guess. Should we go after her?"  
  
Seth grinned. "Nah, give them a half hour. Cody's with them, so I don't think too much could happen."  
  
"If you are sure she'll be all right." Renamon said cautiously. "Perhaps we should go after her."  
  
"Okay, let's go." Caryl replied. Without hesitating, she took out her digivice, and the two went through the portal.  
  
"We'd better follow them." Stuart said to Monodramon. The digimon nodded, and followed Stuart through the portal. Which left Seth, Wizardmon, Tracey, and Nurse Joy in the Pokemon center.  
  
"Okay," Seth said. Let's go back to Professor Oak's and let them know what happened. Honestly, you wouldn't see me charging headlong into a situation like that." Seth blinked. "Did I just say that?"  
  
"Obviously, my influence is starting to show." Wizardmon sighed. "Though we should get Kari and Izzy to go; they know the digital world better than we do."  
  
"You don't?" Tracey asked.  
  
Wizardmon shook his head. "I spent several years in the Human world; I am still not familiar with the ways of the new digital world. Kari, Gatomon, Izzy, and Tentomon are more familiar with the current state of the digital world, and will be of help."  
  
Seth, Wizardmon, and Tracey exited the Center. As they did, they almost ran right into a very large yellow and black pokemon.  
  
"Um...hi everyone." Kyle said, riding on Raikou's Back, June and Elecmon sitting behind him. "Did we miss anything?" Raikou growled, kneeling down. Kyle, June, and Elecmon got off. "Thanks for the ride!" Kyle yelled as Raikou ran off.  
  
Seth watched Raikou leave, eyes wide. "That happen a lot here?" he asked Kyle.  
  
==Next Episode  
  
Investigating the destiny stone, TK and Cody come across an unknown cocoon apparently drawing power from the destiny stone itself. Before they can do anything, however, they are attacked by Chrysalimon where they meet Bastemon. Can this new digimon be trusted? And what hatches from the cocoon by the destiny stone? Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -   
'Shakouomon and the stone of destiny.' 


	26. Digicross TV Series 25 Shakouomon and t...

==Takashi home, morning.  
  
TK stood up. "Thanks mom! I have to go meet my friends now!"  
  
Natsuko Takashi looked at her son. She marveled how much he had grown up  
since the last time monsters had torn through the heart of Tokyo. And how he  
had been meeting his friends an awful lot. "It's started again, hasn't it?"  
she asked.  
  
"Mom?"  
  
"You're going to the Digital World and fighting monsters again. I can see it."  
  
TK grimaced. He had been reluctant to tell his mom about his latest  
adventures. "Yeah."  
  
Natsuko sighed. "I can't stop you, I guess. Just, tell me one thing?" TK  
looked at his mom, wondering what she was about to ask. "Who is she?"  
  
TK had to fight to avoid choking. "W-Whaa?"  
  
"I know how it is with your generation. First you're off to save the world.   
Then you find out about girls, and soon enough, poor old mom is left behind,  
all alone at home. Can I at least know who it is?" TK started stammering  
(rare sight -ed), causing Natsuko to grin a bit. "Is it that Kamiya girl?   
Kari, was that her name?" Natsuko knew that it wasn't, but couldn't resist  
teasing her son a bit. He was so serious these days.  
  
"Crystal." TK mumbled. "Her name's Crystal."  
  
Odd name, Natsuko thought to herself. "She's from that place Kyle's from,  
isn't she?" At TK's expression, she chuckled. "Oh come on. I'm not the only  
mother of a digidestined in Tokyo. I ran into Cody's mother a few weeks ago,  
and she told me everything."  
  
"Oh. Sorry mom."  
  
"That's all right, TK. I know you just didn't want me to worry. Now you  
better get going." TK thanked her, and went to leave. "Oh, and TK?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Natsuko smiled. "You're not allowed to go on a date until you're 15,  
remember." she said sweetly.  
  
"MOM!"  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 25  
'Shakouomon and the stone of destiny!'  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
==Digital World, happening at the same time as Digicross 24.  
  
The portal glowed, and TK stepped through, followed by Patamon. A few minutes  
later, it glowed again, and Cody came through, followed by Armadillomon.  
  
"Is your mom making that dinner again tonight?" Armadillomon asked. "It was  
delicious!"  
  
"She can't make spinach rolls every night, Armadillomon." Cody replied. TK  
and Patamon looked at each other. Weird kid, they both thought. "So, where  
are we going?" Cody asked.  
  
"Baihumon said that there was something odd happening at the destiny stone in  
this area, and asked me to check it out. I figured you might want to come  
along."  
  
"Me? Why?" Cody asked.  
  
TK shrugged. "Well, we never talk that much, you've always hung back." TK  
smiled. "It's tough being the youngest in the group, isn't it?"  
  
"Well...Davis does tend to dominate the conversation." Cody admitted.  
  
"He's not half as bad as Tai and Matt were." Patamon said.  
  
"Yeah, you should have heard some of the stories Gatomon told me about those  
two." Armadillomon added. "I wonder how you managed to survive without Cody  
and me?" Sighing, he shook his head.  
  
"He had me!" Patamon said. "You should have seen me when I digivolved to  
Magna Angemon! I could have taken on all the Dark Masters!" Patamon looked at  
TK. "I guess I still miss it a bit." he sighed.  
  
"Did Patamon really beat Piedmon?" Cody asked.  
  
"The other digidestined helped. A bit." TK replied, grinning.  
  
==  
  
Mewtwo slumped down, exhausted. He had felt some strange energy in this part  
of the digital world, and had come to investigate. As soon as he got close, he  
had been attacked by something that was able to resist even his psychic  
ability. Adding to that was a psychic field that was draining his own  
strength, making him almost helpless. He could not resist as some form of  
metallic suit was placed over him, reminiscent of the armour Giovanni had used  
to 'teach' him to control his powers. However, this set dampened his powers,  
though it also blocked out the other psychic signal. It also left him blind;  
he did not have enough power to extend his senses beyond the helmet.  
  
Arukenimon, confident that her prisoner was now secure, left the impromptu  
jail she had set up. She went over to a large stone that was radiating an  
unearthly amount of power. Beside it was a Control Spire, absorbing the  
radiation and converting it into a form more useful to her. Between the two  
was Larvitar, who had managed to make his way here after crawling through  
unknown reaches of the digital world.  
  
"What...what are you doing to me?" Larvitar growled.  
  
Arukenimon gave a sick smile. "You are about to evolve, my dear. However,  
your form will be chosen by us, a form that will be a bit more useful when it  
comes to fighting the digidestined." She completely ignored Larvitar's scowl  
as she said that. Then, Larvitar began to evolve. "Your form of Pupitar is  
only a temporary one; it should only take you a few hours to evolve into  
something much more powerful than that dreary old Tyranitar."  
  
Out of the shadows, Sneasel padded silently over to Arukenimon. "Two children  
are approaching, master. Both male, TK and Pegasusmon, the other one is that  
small child with the Sandshrew."  
  
"Armadillomon." Arukenimon idly corrected, toying with the pokeball that hung  
around her neck. "So, they sent in the angel." she mused. "We had best  
prepare a reception. I assume you'll want in on it, Sneasel?" The pokemon  
nodded, extending her claws as she did.  
  
==  
  
Pegasusmon landed, reverting to Patamon after his passengers got off.   
Armadillomon looked around, uneasy. "Can you feel something wrong Cody?   
There's something not right about this place."  
  
"I can feel it too." Patamon said. "We should be careful, TK." Armadillomon  
edged closer to Cody. "It almost feels like a Control Spire, but not as  
strong."  
  
TK's eyes narrowed. "Let's try a test then. Try digivolving, Patamon."  
  
Patamon nodded, concentrating. TK's digivice lit up, and Patamon felt the  
power hit him. "Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!"  
  
"I guess there aren't any control spires here after all." Armadillomon noted.   
Beside him, Cody watched the angel digimon's appearance, a little awestruck.   
"I know, all I do is turn into a big old dinosaur."  
  
Cody's face reddened as he tried to stammer out an explanation. Before TK or  
Angemon could intervene, the ground around them exploded, and several small  
creatures came out. "Chrysalimon!" Cody shouted.  
  
Angemon flew up, pulled his fist back, and launched his Hand of Fate attack.   
The energy washed over the digimon with no apparent effect. "They're resisting  
my powers!" he yelled, closing with some of them and swinging his staff around.  
"I count five!"  
  
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!" Ankylomon swung his tail around,  
catching two of the Chrysalimon. They fell to the ground, shell fragmenting to  
reveal a shiny black surface underneath.   
  
"They were made from a Control Spire!" Cody yelled.  
  
"That means I don't have to hold back!" Ankylomon growled. "Megaton Press!"   
Ankylomon jumped and managed to belly-flop another Chrysalimon, shattering it.   
"Too easy!" As he said that, the ground rumbled again.  
  
"I think you overdid it!" Cody yelled. "Get out of there!" Cody ran over to  
Ankylomon. TK tried to stop him, but was too slow. The ground split, and  
Ankylomon and Cody fell through the ground. TK heard some shouts, then nothing.  
  
"Cody!" TK yelled. Angemon snarled, grabbed the fourth Chrysalimon by one of  
its tentacles, and swung it into the fifth, shattering both. He flew over,  
grabbed TK, and flew down.  
  
Cody and Ankylomon were gone, several tracks left in the ground suggesting  
that there had been a brief but energetic fight.  
  
==  
  
When Cody came to, he found that he was in a cell, and Armadillomon was beside  
him. "So, our guest awakens." Arukenimon said, eyes fixed on the boy. Cody  
looked up, saw Arukenimon, and saw his digivice and D-terminal on a small table  
behind her. "I suppose we could have just disposed of you and your over-  
enthusiastic friend, but I figured that you could keep our other guest company.  
Have a nice day." The lady strolled off, mane of white hair trailing behind  
her.  
  
Cody crawled over to Armadillomon, still a bit woozy from the fall he took.   
"Armadillomon, are you all right?"  
  
"Nothing some of your mom's spinach rolls couldn't fix."  
  
"I promise, I'll have mom make all you can eat if we get out of this." Cody  
noticed someone else in the cage, sitting in a far corner. Cody went over to  
check on the other being too. He had a tail, and was covered in what looked  
like white fur..."Mewtwo?"  
  
"Who...who is there?" Mewtwo's voice was weak, barely above a whisper. Cody  
realized that Mewtwo was actually speaking, not communicating telepathically as  
he usually did.  
  
"It's Cody. What's wrong?"  
  
"Help...help get this helmet off..." Cody pulled on the helmet, but it was  
fastened too tightly. He beckoned Armadillomon over, and the two spent a few  
minutes working on the helmet before it finally came off. Mewtwo started to  
breathe, then fell over as if struck. "The pain..." he gasped. Hastily, Cody  
placed the helmet back on. "It seems that this helmet is shielding me from the  
energy that is powering this place."  
  
Cody looked around. "Energy? Armadillomon?"  
  
"I can feel something, but beyond making me all shivery under my shell, I  
can't tell what it is."  
  
"Can you digivolve to Digmon?" Mewtwo asked.  
  
"They took my digivice and D-Terminal. They're about three meters from the  
cage, in the direction you're facing now."  
  
==  
  
TK looked around the cavern. He and Angemon had been walking for several  
minutes now. "How far down is this destiny stone supposed to be, anyway?"  
  
"I don't know." Angemon replied. "Digimon know about the stones, but don't  
normally live near them; the energy affects them in different ways; I think  
that's why I haven't gone back to Patamon yet; I can feel the stone more  
clearly now, but there's something else too, something evil that's drawing  
power off of it."  
  
"Probably the same thing that sent those Chrysalimon up." TK sighed  
explosively. "I should have kept a closer eye on Cody." he berated himself.  
  
"TK," Angemon said firmly, "he'll be fine. Don't go all Matt on us, 'cause I  
really don't want to start fighting Exveemon."  
  
TK looked up. "Did I really sound like Matt?"  
  
"When he tried to clean Tai's clock, yes. During the fight against  
Puppetmon."   
  
"Don't remind me." TK shivered, remembering being held by the insane puppet  
digimon. In a way, he was scarier than Piedmon, or even Apocalymon. He  
decided to change the subject. "So, how did my mom find out about Crystal?"  
  
Angemon looked straight ahead. "Angels don't lie." he said with as much  
dignity as he could muster. "Besides, Gatomon told her."  
  
"Great." TK muttered. "She thinks I've been dating her."  
  
Angemon was about to reply when the two explorers heard a cry for help.   
"Gatomon?" Angemon wondered. The voice did sound a bit like hers.  
  
"Can't be. She's back in the Pokemon World." TK replied.  
  
They both ran ahead, and found three more Chrysalimon attacking what looked  
like a catgirl from one of Davis' anime series. "Help me!" the cat yelled,  
swinging wildly. Beside her, there was a small pile of crystals. "I can't  
hold them off much longer!"  
  
Angemon flew over, and started swinging at the Chrysalimon. He got one, and  
the other two flew off. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I am now." the cat said, eyes widening. "My name's Bastemon. Are you  
sing...I mean, what's your name?"  
  
"Angemon." the digimon replied, shooting a sharp glance at TK, who was trying  
not to laugh. "Why are you down here?"  
  
"I sensed that something powerful was at work in this area; I know that there  
is a large object of power nearby, so I decided to come down and have a look.   
But those strange creatures attacked me and shattered my crystal ball; I need  
it to focus my attacks." Bastemon looked at Angemon. "Can you escort me to  
the top? I would be eternally...grateful."  
  
Angemon regarded Bastemon warily. His earlier observation had been right.   
Bastemon -did- sound like Gatomon. A little too much like her, Angemon  
decided. And she seemed to be completely ignoring TK, focussing all her  
attention on Angemon. "We have friends down here as well. If we delay, they  
may be hurt. I'm sorry."  
  
"Well, why don't I come along? You look like you could use some help. And I  
never could resist someone in white." Bastemon took Angemon's arm and led him  
down one of the tunnels. Trying not to snigger (aloud), TK followed them.  
  
==  
  
"I may be able to retrieve your digivice and D-terminal." Mewtwo said. "But I  
will need your help."  
  
"What do we do?" Cody asked.  
  
"My powers are weakened, but I think I have enough power to telekinetically  
summon your items to our location. However, I will need your help to remove  
this helmet, and you will have to get me away from this place. The energy in  
here is severely damaging to any psychic pokemon." Cody nodded, stepping  
forward. "Come closer. It will be easier if I have an image to focus on."   
Mewtwo placed a paw on Cody's head. "Focus on your digivice and D-terminal.   
That should be enough for me to work with." Cody closed his eyes,  
concentrating.  
  
Mewtwo extended what little power he had to work with into the boy's mind.   
Immediately, he was struck by how disciplined Cody was. A shame Ash is not  
more like him, he thought to himself. The images Mewtwo was looking for were  
right there, waiting for him. "I have them. Now, removed the helmet." Mewtwo  
gritted his teeth, trying to keep his mind's eye on the mental picture of the D-  
3 and D-Terminal, as the pain tore at him. Dimly, he heard someone talking,  
then the helmet was replaced.  
  
"You got them back, Mewtwo. Now Armadillomon can digivolve to Digmon and get  
us out of here." Cody looked at Armadillomon. "Are you ready?" Armadillomon  
nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Digmon, the wisdom of steel!"  
  
Arukenimon sat up sharply, hearing a loud explosion from the jail. She ran  
over, and found a large hole in the floor, and the three prisoners gone.   
"Down, huh? Well, I guess they'll meet my other friend."  
  
==  
  
After prying Bastemon off of him, Angemon scouted ahead a bit. TK followed  
him. "Angemon? Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm not hurt." Angemon replied. TK stared at him, waiting for the rest of  
it. He knows me too well, Angemon thought. "It's just...I can't seem to  
understand Bastemon."  
  
"She is being a bit pushy, isn't she?" TK wondered.  
  
"That too, but there's something...not right about her. Like I should know  
who she is."  
  
"Do you know any other Bastemon?" TK asked.  
  
"No. Most Bastemon operate as wandering fortune tellers, but they're usually  
fairly reclusive. One came to Primary Village once after it was restored. All  
the baby digimon there crowded around listening to her tell stories."  
  
"Not the same person?"  
  
Angemon shook his head. "Not in the least."  
  
"My ears were burning." Bastemon said, approaching. "You weren't about to  
leave me behind in this terrible place, were you?" Bastemon sidled up to  
Angemon.  
  
"No. Look, I appreciate the attention, but..." Angemon trailed off.  
  
"Oh?" Bastemon asked archly. "You mean that little brown hairball didn't  
swipe that pathetic kitten from URK!" Bastemon trailed off as Angemon moved  
away and jabbed his staff into her neck, not doing any damage, but pinning her  
in place.  
  
"Who are you?" Angemon growled. "You're not a Bastemon."  
  
Bastemon grinned. "I see you've figured it out." Her form shifted into one  
Angemon and TK recognized. Lady Devimon leered at Angemon. "But the offer's  
still open, handsome. Ditch Gatomon and the little boy here and we could have  
a wild time."  
  
"Nice try, but no." Angemon replied. "TK? Your call." Before TK could  
reply, Lady Devimon rolled away from Angemon and came up, ready to fight.  
  
"Nice try, angel-boy, but I'm following my own destiny. I'm not going to have  
some pathetic human tell me when to fight." She charged up an attack.  
  
==  
  
Digmon burst through a wall, Cody half dragging, half carrying Mewtwo with  
him. They all fell to the ground, gasping for breath. "I think we are clear  
of the energy." Mewtwo said, pulling the helmet off. "Yes. The energy is not  
as painful here."  
  
Cody recalled the digiegg, and tried to send a message. "Whatever's going on  
up there, it's blocking my D-terminal as well. I can't contact any of the  
others."  
  
"Well, we have a large lake here." Armadillomon pointed out. "If we follow  
the river that feeds it, it should take us out of here."  
  
The water abruptly surged, soaking the three. A large digimon exploded out of  
the water, tentacles waving around. "I beg to differ!" the digimon snarled.   
  
"Gesomon." Armadillomon cried. "Cody, I'll have a better chance fighting him  
in the water!"  
  
Cody nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Submarimon, reliable guardian of the  
sea!" Submarimon quickly went underwater, meeting Gesomon in his own element.  
  
The water churned for a minute as the two digimon battled. As they watched,  
Mewtwo looked around. Suddenly, he stiffened. "Something is happening. A new  
evil force is emerging."  
  
"What kind of power? Is it another control spire digimon?" Cody asked  
  
"No. This is something far worse, on a level similar to that of Chimeramon."   
As he spoke, he felt the power that affected his psychic abilities fade away.   
He concentrated, building up his energy.  
  
==  
  
By the destiny stone, the control spire started to crack, then it shattered.   
However, instead of disappearing, the shards were pulled into the cocoon that  
had been leaching power from the Stone. There was a sharp cracking sound, and  
a small figure crawled out.  
  
Arukenimon looked at the figure. "I'm less than impressed."  
  
:A moment,: Demon's voice echoed in her mind, :Larvitar's body must adapt to  
the power filling it. Ah, now he is evolving.:  
  
Growling in pain, Larvitar rolled on the ground, body glowing with a sickly  
green light, instead of the usual white associated with pokemon evolutions.   
Larvitar's body shifted, twisted, and reformed itself into a humanoid figure,  
which vaguely resembled an armour digimon Arukenimon had seen only once, when  
the Digimon Emperor was beaten. Blades snapped out of the armoured plates on  
the digimon's forearms, these bone white, in contrast to the greenish gold of  
the armour it wore.  
  
==  
  
It was a running battle. Angemon was much more experienced in fighting than  
Lady Devimon, but Lady Devimon had more power. The battle had run all the way  
back to the surface, Angemon carrying TK with him.  
  
"Cody's still down there!" TK yelled as they exited.  
  
"And Lady Devimon's right here! We'll be no use to anyone if she kills us  
both! Now get to cover!" Angemon replied, before turning back to face the  
fallen angel.  
  
"If you're that eager to find your little friend, I can arrange that. When I  
bury you all under this mountain! Darkness Wave!" Lady Devimon fired her  
attack at Angemon. He managed to deflect it, but the force of the attack drove  
him back. "Give it up, angel boy!" she taunted. "You should have joined me  
when you had the chance. Shame you'll have to go now!" Leering, she brought  
her red-clawed hand up. She then made a dismissive gesture, pointing her hand  
at TK and firing her nails at him!  
  
"TK!" Angemon yelled, trying to get to his partner before the attack did.   
Horrified, he saw the attack strike, kicking up a cloud of dust. It cleared,  
but neither digimon saw the boy impaled on Lady Devimon's spear-like nails.   
Instead, his image shimmered into view a few feet away. At his feet was a  
small, purple, catlike creature.  
  
TK looked at the pokemon. "Espeon? Then..." He looked back and saw Crystal  
there, sighing in relief.  
  
She ran over to TK. "Are you alright? I got worried, so I came looking for  
you." Her gaze then switched to Lady Devimon. "Espeon, Psyblast attack!"   
  
Lady Devimon parried the attack. "Fool! I evolved from a Dark Type Pokemon.   
Your precious psychic powers are useless!"  
  
:Indeed: a voice echoed in everyone's mind. The ground opened up, and Mewtwo,  
levitating Cody and Armadillomon with him, floated into view. :That explains  
much of what has happened here.:  
  
The fallen angel smirked. "The last time I checked, you were a psychic  
pokemon too. You'll fall even faster."  
  
Mewtwo said nothing, setting Cody and Armadillomon down. He then looked from  
Lady Devimon to a small outcropping of rock. Part of it broke off, then shot  
at Lady Devimon, as if fired from a cannon! Panicked, Lady Devimon dodged.  
  
:You are shielded against direct assaults,: Mewtwo agreed, :but there are many  
ways to use psychic abilities.: Mewtwo's aura glowed blue, and the rocks and  
sand at his feet floated up, the were also launched at the digimon, pelting her.  
  
"Enough." Arukenimon stepped out of the cave entrance, eyes on Lady Devimon.   
"You've done enough for today. We should let our newest friend out to play."  
  
"I can take them." Lady Devimon snarled.  
  
"I said return!" Arukenimon barked. She and the fallen angel glared at each  
other. "Now then, I believe I was about to destroy you all?"  
  
"No, I was about to destroy them all." a deep voice said. A figure slowly  
walked out of the cavern.  
  
TK blinked. "Magnamon?" he said, thinking he recognized the figure.  
  
Arukenimon laughed. "Close, but not quite. We had a long time to study the  
golden digiegg while it was in our possession; enough time to create this fine  
specimen. Let me introduce Magnatar."  
  
Angemon didn't recognize the name, but he could feel the power coming from  
this newcomer. Quickly, he fired his Hand of Fate, trying to end the fight  
quickly. The blast hit, but Magnatar was unaffected. Espeon fired another  
psyblast, with similar results.  
  
"I'll leave you to it, then. Try not to have too much fun." Arukenimon said.  
  
"Fun has to be interesting." Magnatar growled. "This won't even be a light  
workout. Let's see. First...you!" he said, looking at Espeon. "Devil shot!"   
A swarm of missiles launched from Magnatar's shoulder pauldrons, aimed at the  
pokemon. Espeon dodged the first few, but was quickly knocked out by the rest  
of them. He glowed and reverted to Eevee. Crystal ran over, gathering up  
Eevee. TK tackled her, knocking her clear of a second salvo of missiles.   
"Pathetic."   
  
Snarling, Mewtwo fired a Hyper Beam, which did hit Magnatar on an unarmoured  
part of his body. "So, you've figured out that I evolved from a Dark Type, did  
you?"  
  
"Yes," Mewtwo growled, "your aura is similar to that of Sneasel's when she  
becomes Lady Devimon."  
  
Magnatar snorted. "She's nothing compared to me." Idly, he launched another  
Devil Shot, striking Angemon full force. The angel was hurled away by the  
blast, coming to rest near TK.  
  
There was a shout as Armadillomon digivolved to Ankylomon. The dinosaur  
digimon tried to overpower Magnatar with his Tail Hammer. Magnatar went  
flying, landed, and quickly got up. "Get away from him!" Cody yelled.   
Magnatar snorted again, unimpressed. "Ankylomon, you can beat him!" Ankylomon  
charged again, but Magnatar was able to dodge the attack.  
  
He's toying with us, TK realized. "Crystal, you have to get out of here."  
  
"TK-"  
  
"No arguments! This isn't a pokemon battle, that digimon is trying to kill  
us! Please!" TK locked eyes with Crystal. "Please." he repeated in a quieter  
voice.  
  
"How touching." Lady Devimon said, ignoring Arukenimon and attacking again.   
"I turn my back for a few minutes and you humans get all sappy on me.   
Darkness-"  
  
"Monodramon, digivolve to...Strikedramon!" Another digimon tackled Lady  
Devimon, knocking her clear of the two humans before she could attack them.  
  
"Flamedramon?" TK gasped, startled. Wait, he thought, there's no armour, and  
he's at least half again as big as Flamedramon.  
  
Stuart ran up. "Nope. That's Strikedramon, Champion level Dragon Man  
digimon. At least, that's what he told me on our way over." He looked at  
Magnatar. "Ugly. We should have called Seth, he and Wizardmon could have  
helped out." A blur of white and yellow ran past Stuart as he talked. A  
second later, Caryl also ran up, panting for breath.  
  
"She's so fast." Caryl wheezed. "She helped us find you when we came through  
the portal."  
  
Kyuubimon jumped, twisting in midair. "Dragon Wheel!" she shouted, turning  
into a flaming comet and striking the fallen angel. "Strikedramon and I will  
take care of Lady Devimon." Kyuubimon yelled to Ankylomon and Angemon.  
  
Cody ran over to where the other humans were gathered. "TK, Angemon needs  
you!" he said, grabbing TK by the arm and dragging him back to where Magnatar  
was fighting the two champion digimon.  
  
TK ran over, and gasped at what he saw. Magnatar was easily controlling the  
battle. He had Angemon by the throat in one hand, and was in the process of  
launching another Devil Shot at Ankylomon. Ankylomon was too slow to evade the  
attack, and was hit, the missiles doing damage even through the dinosaur's  
tough armour. Angemon tried to make a swing with his staff, but Magnatar  
caught it in his other hand, pulled the rod out of Angemon's grasp, snapped it  
in half, and tossed the weapon away. He tossed Angemon away next, the angel  
landing near his shattered weapon. "Angemon!" TK yelled, running down the  
slope to his partner.  
  
Mewtwo looked around. He realized that they could not win against Magnatar,  
much less him and Lady Devimon. All this power, he thought...A desperate hope  
came to him. Desperately, he tried to remember which guardian oversaw this  
area. :Azulongmon!: he mentally shouted.  
  
:I hear you Mewtwo. And I can see what is happening. But I do not have the  
power to assist you. I..." Azulongmon's voice trailed off as he saw Mewtwo's  
plan unfold in his mind. :It is very dangerous, Mewtwo.:  
  
:I know. But unless I try, we are all doomed.: Without waiting for another  
word, Mewtwo teleported away, unseen by the combatants.  
  
==  
  
Mewtwo appeared by the Destiny Stone. Even though he was not a digimon, his  
psychic senses reeled under the power he could feel from the stone. He placed  
his hands on the stone, and began concentrating.  
  
==  
  
Lady Devimon snarled as she dodged another Strike Fang from Strikedramon, then  
twisted wildly to avoid Kyuubimon's Foxtail Inferno. She launched an attack at  
Strikedramon, trying to keep him between herself and Kyuubimon.  
  
Some yards away, Stuart and Caryl watched the fight. "I hope they can do  
this." Stuart whispered. "We'd better hope Izzy was wrong when he said  
Ultimate digimon were a lot more powerful than Champion digimon."  
  
"Kyuubimon, go left!" Caryl yelled. "They'll be fine." she replied. It's  
just about timing, that's all." She hadn't kept up with Lorelei when she went  
all philosophical on her (as she thought of it), but she was able to understand  
the value of timing. "Now!" she yelled. Kyuubimon jumped, unleashed another  
Dragon Wheel, which allowed Strikedramon a chance to attack again.  
  
"Wow." was all Stuart could say.  
  
Caryl shrugged. "Ms. Lorelei told me about pokemon battles and the Elite  
Four. Sounds like something Renamon and I should go for."  
  
==  
  
Angemon, panting for breath, got to his knees, one of the broken halves of his  
staff in hand. TK swallowed as he saw the extent of Angemon's injuries. His  
mask had been partially shattered; one of Angemon's eyes was visible. Same  
colour as mine, TK noted. One of his wings was bent at an odd angle, causing  
Angemon to wince when he tried to move it. There were numerous cuts, many  
severe, around his torso.  
  
"T...K...wait here." Angemon said, standing. "I have to stop him."  
  
Cody ran over. "You're too badly hurt!" he yelled. "Both of you are!" TK  
saw that Ankylomon was in little better shape. "We have to get the others  
here."  
  
"It's alright." Ankylomon growled. "We can take this jerk." Magnatar stood a  
short distance away, waiting for the next attack to come. "And that's 'we',  
Angemon."  
  
Angemon nodded. "Of course."  
  
"But-" Cody started.  
  
"They can." TK cut Cody off. "As long as we believe in our digimon, they can  
beat anyone. "Sure, Magna Angemon was able to finish off Piedmon, but he  
needed the other digidestined to help."  
  
"Cody," Ankylomon said, "I'll come back, if that's what you want." The ground  
chose that minute to erupt again, this time allowing Mewtwo, aura almost  
blinding. With a shout, he unleashed two beams of energy, which entered into  
Cody and TK's digivices. TK saw Angemon's injuries heal, then was nearly  
floored by what happened next.  
  
"Ankylomon...Angemon...DNA Digivolve to... Shakkoumon!" The new digimon  
looked...odd, TK decided. Silvery, it had a large head, a separate torso, what  
looked like jet engines for legs, and arms that ended in claws. On its back  
were two stubby wings.  
  
"Shakkoumon?" Cody whispered.  
  
"I'm less than impressed." Magnatar said (slightly impressed -ed). "Devil  
Shot!" A hole opened up on Shakkoumon's torso, releasing several dozen  
spinning blades. Each blade struck one of the missiles, negating the attack.   
Angered, Magnatar flew at Shakkoumon, claws extended.  
  
Shakkoumon's eyes glowed red. "Justice Beam!" he called, firing two beams of  
power from his eyes. They struck, knocking the evil digimon away, slamming him  
into the ground for a change. "Take our advice, give up now!" Shakkoumon  
commanded.  
  
"Never!" Magnatar roared. He flew up, missile ports opening all over his  
body. However, these openings didn't release missiles. Instead, they started  
to glow a bright yellow. "I'll destroy you and everything in this area! HYPER  
JIHAD!"  
  
"No!" Shakkoumon yelled, getting between the energy beam and the humans. He  
flung his arms out, intercepting the attack and, to TK and Cody's surprise,  
absorbing the full power of that awful beam. Magnatar, exhausted from using  
that attack, backpedaled in midair (odd image, no? -ed)  
  
"This yours?" Shakkoumon casually asked, eyes now glowing yellow, the same  
colour as Magnatar's attack. "Harmonious Spirit!" The twin beams hammered  
into Magnatar, sending the digimon flying.  
  
"No!" Lady Devimon shouted, seeing this happen. As she turned, she left  
herself open for Strikedramon to land a powerful Strike Fang attack on her,  
driving her to the ground. Kyuubimon followed up with another Foxtail Inferno,  
and Lady Devimon collapsed, becoming Sneasel again.  
  
"Wait!" Caryl yelled as Kyuubimon moved to attack again. "I think we beat  
it." She looked again, and her eyes widened. "That's a pokemon!"  
  
"Gwah?" Strikedramon and Stuart said simultaneously.   
  
Kyuubimon looked at Sneasel. "She's right, it was in the pokedex Caryl got  
from Lorelei. A Sneasel." Kyuubimon looked at Sneasel. "Didn't Izzy say that  
there was a Sneasel working for the Dark Ocean?"  
  
"I'll never tell." Sneasel growled. A second later, Arukenimon appeared,  
grabbed Sneasel, and escaped.  
  
==That night.  
  
Natsuko Takashi looked at the wall clock. 6:30pm, she thought. I wish he'd  
call or say something about when he would be home. Doesn't he know how much I  
worry about him?  
  
A knock on the door disrupted her reverie. She got up, and walked over. "Who  
is it?"  
  
"It's me, mom."  
  
"It's about time you got home." Natsuko sighed, opening the door. She was  
about to go on, when she saw that TK was not alone. "And who is this?" she  
asked her son.  
  
"Well...this is Crystal." TK said, trying not to sound too silly.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Takashi." Crystal said, smiling. On her  
shoulder, Eevee yipped happily.  
  
"Well, why don't you come in, both of you? I'm sure there's a lot TK hasn't  
told me about you."  
  
"Mom!"  
  
Next Episode:  
Davis, Ken and Cody are brought to Celadon Hospital, where they meet Ukyo  
Oikawa. On meeting the digidestined children, Oikawa's memory starts to  
return, and he is able to tell the two about the fate of Myotismon, who had  
possessed him years earlier. The story is cut short as Magnatar appears over  
Indigo Plateau, and starts destroying the stadium. Can the digidestined  
children stop Magnatar, especially when he has drained the power of a third  
Destiny Stone? Next time on Digimon: Digicross...  
'Magnatar and the destruction of the Indigo League.'  
  
  
Digicross TV short  
'A Davis at the beach'  
  
The Digiport opened, revealing Davis, Ryo, Ken, and Yolei, who was busy trying  
to get through Ken so she could throttle the aforementioned Ryo.  
  
"I'll give you a big date, you creep!" Yolei shouted.  
  
"Hey, I was just joking! A little help Davis?" Ryo begged.  
  
Davis shook his head. "Oh no. This is one time I'm staying out of a fight."  
He and Veemon nodded.  
  
"Yolei, please!" Hawkmon started pulling on Yolei's ankle. "Strangling Ryo  
will not solve anything. All he said was that you liked Ken!" Ken  
concentrated on becoming invisible.  
  
"Well he doesn't have to blab it all over the place!" Yolei shouted at  
Hawkmon, face reddening as she spoke.  
  
"She's not denying it." Veemon whispered to Davis, who started sniggering.  
  
"What was THAT?" Yolei demanded, switching her attention to Davis and Veemon.  
  
The door to the pokemon center opened. "Are we intruding?" Melody asked, as  
she and Edward Silver stepped in.  
  
==  
  
Outside, the digimon were playing on the beach. It was empty today, so there  
were no worries about being seen by trainers or, worse, said trainers trying to  
catch one of them.  
  
Hawkmon sat under an umbrella, watching as the two Veemons played in the surf.  
Melody's Veemon had adapted to life in the Orange Islands fairly quickly.   
Hawkmon had to admit, he had never expected to see a tanned Veemon; V-mon (as  
Melody's partner had insisted on being called) had a fainter shade of blue skin  
now, and was currently swimming circles around Davis' Veemon. Penguinmon  
waddled up to Hawkmon. "Not coming in? The water's great."  
  
"I'm a bird, not a fish. But thanks." Hawkmon replied.  
  
"Hey, I'm a bird!" Penguinmon protested. "How about you?" he asked Wormmon.  
  
"Sorry. Salt water's bad for my complexion." Wormmon looked at Hawkmon.   
"Something on your mind?"  
  
"Oh, just wishing I was back in Stone Town." Hawkmon said absently. "I'm not  
much of an ocean type."  
  
"I think he wants to stay near Kyle's Pidgeot." Wormmon whispered to  
Penguinmon.   
  
Hawkmon heard this. "I'll have you know she is a most enchanting creature."  
he replied, trying to recover some of his dignity.  
  
==  
  
The humans had gathered in a large, open-aired hut, which Melody said was  
usually used for traditional ceremonies by the islanders. Yolei had suggested  
that they start with some introductions. Davis, eager to hit the beach, went  
first.  
  
"My name's Davis, and I'm in charge of the digidestined in Japan! It'll be  
great to be working with you." Melody chuckled at that. "My partner's Veemon."  
  
Yolei sighed. "I'm Yolei. Just ignore Davis, he has delusions of grandeur on  
a fairly regular basis. Hawkmon's my partner, and this is Ken, he joined our  
group just recently."   
  
Beside her, Ken nodded. "My partner is Wormmon, but I'm sure you all know  
that by now." Ken shifted a bit, as if uncomfortable.  
  
"Ryo Akiyama, but I'm sure Ed's told you all about me." Ryo glanced at  
Edward, who shook his head. "Should have figured. He is a rotten liar, so I  
guess it's for the best." He leaned over to Yolei. "If you want any dirt on  
Ken, I know everything you could ever want to know."  
Yolei's face went bright pink, and she smacked Ryo on the back of his head.   
Ken just wished he could turn invisible.  
  
"My name's Melody, and I live here." Melody nodded to Davis. "So, any  
initiation rituals, oh fearless leader?" Davis' face reddened a bit, getting a  
laugh out of everyone. "I've lived here all my life." she added.  
  
"You have?" Edward asked. "I'm Edward Silver, I'm originally from the Johto  
region, but I've traveled a lot since then. Actually, I've been looking for a  
pokemon that's been seen in this area. Have you ever heard of Lugia?"  
  
"What?" Melody gasped, standing up. Edward blinked, confused by Melody's  
reaction. Melody spun on her heel and walked out of the room. Davis went  
after her.  
  
Edward blinked, still confused. "Huh?" was about all he could manage.  
  
==  
  
"Melody? Hey, wait up!" Davis yelled, running to keep up with the girl.  
  
"What?" Melody snapped, turning around. Davis, startled, tried to stop before  
he collided with her, slipped, and landed on his backside, eyes squeezed shut  
from the pain.  
  
"Ah! Sorry!" Melody said, running over to Davis and helping him up.  
  
"Forget it." he replied. "Happens all the time. So, why'd you leave?"  
  
"Because..." Melody started to snap, then trailed off. "I'm sorry." she  
started again. "It's just...The last time I came across someone trying to  
catch Lugia, he was a demented nutcase, remember?" Davis nodded. Melody  
sighed. "I guess I overreacted."  
  
Davis shrugged. "It happens. Hey, even I put my foot in it sometimes."  
  
The two Veemon had seen Melody and Davis leaving, and followed them. "Yeah,  
like last week, when-"  
  
"Veemon!" Davis hissed. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that!"  
  
Melody chuckled, her mood lightening. "Why don't I show you around?"  
  
==  
  
Edward sighed. "Looks like I stuck my foot in it again." he muttered. "I  
should have known."  
  
"Known what?" Yolei asked.  
  
"That Lugia is seen as a...well, not quite a god, but he is given special  
regard out here." Ken answered. "I read about it at Professor Oak's." he  
admitted.  
  
Edward nodded. "All the legendary birds are; Lugia, Zapdos, Moltres, and  
Articuno. Ho-oh would be too, if he lived in this area."  
  
"Why Lugia?" Yolei asked, curious.  
  
"It's silly." Edward said. "Ryo and I saw Lugia one day when we were about  
six. We were at a beach with our families, and we were just looking out over  
the ocean and there he was; Mom and dad thought it was a cloud, but I just knew  
it was Lugia. When I was ten, I got my license to train pokemon, and started  
searching."  
  
"And he's been casting about ever since." Ryo added. "You never did go into  
the Indigo or Johto league, though."  
  
Edward shrugged. "Never was interested in battling pokemon. Now that I have  
a digimon partner, I don't know what I'll do. Keep looking for Lugia, I guess."  
  
"And when you catch him?" Ken asked.  
  
Edward and Ryo shook their heads. "We never wanted to catch Lugia, just see  
him. Y'know, so we know that we weren't seeing things. If I hadn't met  
Baihumon and Ken here, I might be poking around here, too." Ryo nodded to Ken.  
"And speaking of digimon, weren't we supposed to be talking about who we're  
fighting THIS time?"  
  
"Shouldn't we wait for Davis and Melody?" Yolei asked.  
  
"Wait for Davis?" Ken asked. "I thought Hawkmon was in a hurry to get back."   
It took everyone else a second to realize that Ken was making a joke.  
  
==  
  
Eventually, Davis and Melody did make it back, Melody apologizing to Edward,  
then explaining how she had met Lugia. After that, Ken and Yolei told the  
other digidestined about the Dark Ocean, Sneasel, Arukenimon, and the best way  
to deal with Control Spires (knock them flat -ed).  
  
"A whole dimension...whoa." Edward whispered when everyone else was done.  
  
"Ah, we can handle it." Davis told him. "Any trouble, just call and we'll  
come running."  
  
"If Mr. Hero can find the way." Yolei remarked.  
  
Davis groaned. "You see what I have to put up with?" he said to no-one in  
particular.  
  
Melody smiled. "Poor baby." she said. "Oh, I almost forgot." She walked  
over to Davis, still smiling.   
  
"F...forgot what?" Davis asked, suddenly nervous.  
  
Melody took that as her cue to lean forward and kiss Davis. "The traditional  
welcome kiss. All the great heroes get one." Yolei was caught between trying  
not to laugh and elbowing Ryo to keep him from making a smart remark. She  
managed both, somehow.  
  
"Ouch." Ryo managed. "And you've been here *how* long, Edward?"  
  
"Not long enough, I guess." Edward replied.  
  
V-mon hopped over to Hawkmon, who was watching the whole thing. "Maybe you  
should try that on Pidgeot." he whispered.  
  
"Quiet, you." Hawkmon replied, hoping Yolei hadn't heard. Sadly, she had.  
  
The end. 


	27. Digicross TV Series 26 Magnatar and the ...

---------------------  
Digicross Episode 26  
'Magnatar and the destruction of the Indigo League'  
---------------------  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Demon watched the battle by the third destiny stone intently, as Lady Devimon  
and Magnatar battled their two opponent. "This is getting to be an annoyance.   
My calculations showed that this would be the best time to attack."  
  
Arukenimon looked up. "Why were you so intent on having Magnatar attack now?   
Won't those other children show up soon? There are already four DNA digimon  
that can equal a high end Ultimate level digimon. I'm surprised they haven't  
shown up already."  
  
Demon glanced at Arukenimon. "Well, school is in session right now."  
  
==Digital World, Friday  
  
Pyroangemon and Cyberarcanine circled Lady Devimon, snarling as he readied   
himself for another attack. A short distance away, Charizard traded firey   
blasts with Magnatar.   
  
The fallen angel grinned back, bone-white nails already extended.   
"Why don't you just give up now? Your win record hasn't been the most  
impressive."  
  
"Maybe," Pyroangemon replied, "but there's no water in the area. And a desert  
is the perfect place for a fire type to practice, wouldn't you agree?" The  
angel flew in, sword extended. Lady Devimon dodged, then closed to grapple.   
While they did,   
  
On the ground, Kyle Ellison and Ryo Akiyama watched the battle, calling  
directions to their partner monsters. "I'm surprised June isn't here."  
  
Kyle shrugged. "She had an exam today. Trust me, an angry June is much worse  
than this." Kyle looked up, then yelled "Now!". Cyberarcanine flew towards  
Lady Devimon, firing his Plasma Buster repeatedly. This distracted Lady  
Devimon long enough for Pyroangemon to slam his shield into her, then blasted  
her with his Sacred Fire technique.  
  
Pyroangemon watched as Lady Devimon fell, crashing into a sand dune, then  
reverted to Sneasel. "Someone evolve from an Ice type this morning?" the angel  
taunted. Sneasel got up, trying to force herself to digivolve, then stepped  
back as Cyberarcanine and Scizor covered her, ready to attack the moment she  
moved.  
  
Magnatar snarled, then returned his attention to Charizard. "Impressive, but  
you're not the only ones who can learn techniques. Grim Reaper!" Claws  
extended, Magnatar made several slashing attacks at Charizard, badly injuring  
the pokemon. He fell, reverting to Charmeleon as he landed. "Now for the  
stone!" he yelled, darting over and sinking one of his claws into it.  
  
Seeing this, Pyroangemon flew to the stone, readying his sword. "Atom Force!"  
The blade connected with the extended claw, shattering it and causing the  
surface of the destiny stone to crack. Magnatar screamed in pain as the  
uncontrolled energy tore through him. The angel brought his shield up, getting  
it between Magnatar and the destiny stone, then forced the digimon away.   
Pyroangemon's wings extended, both glowing bright red. Dismissing his sword,  
he extended his hands over his head, and the red light flowed up his arms to  
his hands. "I am sorry, but there is no other way." Without another word, the  
angel released the ball of energy, launching it at Magnatar. There was a wash  
of heat, then Magnatar seemed to ripple, then vanish. Pyroangemon landed,  
reverted to Eevee, then collapsed.  
  
Kyle ran over. "What WAS that?" he asked his pokemon.  
  
"All his power focussed into a single blast." Cyberarcanine answered, staring  
at Eevee. "Was it Patamon that taught you that?"   
  
Eevee shook his head. "Gatomon did. She did it once before, but she had all  
the other digimon helping out with their energy too."  
  
"Dangerous," the armoured pokemon replied, "you could have injured yourself.   
What happened to Magnatar?"  
  
"He was destroyed, right?" Ryo asked. "Wish it didn't have to end like this."  
  
"I don't think so." Cyberarcanine said. "My sensors read some sort of  
dimensional shift. He may have tried to retreat to the Dark Ocean. We'll  
probably see him again."  
  
Ryo nodded, then looked at Kyle. "So, back to the arms of your lady love?" he  
asked wryly.  
  
"She has an essay due Monday, and said she didn't want to be disturbed  
tonight. Not all of us can get a year off school just by asking, you know."  
  
"Yeah," Charmeleon coughed, "I can just see the two of you running off  
somewhere on a pokemon adventure. Well, an adventure anyway." Kyle blushed,  
getting a laugh out of everyone else there.  
  
==Stone Town, Saturday  
  
Cody looked around the house. "Kyle should be here soon." Kyle's father said  
from the kitchen. "He said that he and Ryo were going to check on something.   
Hope you like...ahh, nuts."   
  
Cody thought he smelled smoke. "Are you alright? Should Armadillomon and I  
come help?"  
  
"It's fine, I just...oops." Mikhail walked out of the kitchen, holding a pan  
with something black and unidentifiable. "Umm...you don't mind charcoal on   
your grilled cheese, do you?"  
  
Kyle opened the door. "Hey, dad, I'm...You didn't try cooking again, did you?"  
  
"Your father offered to make Armadillomon and I some grilled cheese  
sandwiches." Cody answered.  
  
Kyle shook his head. "Dad, what have we said about flame broiling bread  
products?"  
  
"I couldn't flip it!" Mikhail protested. "Give your old man some credit!"  
  
"You did grease the pan, right?"  
  
"It was non stick!"  
  
"That was the last pan, that you wrecked, if I recall! This one we had to buy  
used!"  
  
Growlithe padded over to Cody. "Don't mind them, they always go on like this."  
  
"Yeah," Eevee agreed, "you should have seen the cake he tried to make. It  
looked like Growlithe had been using it for target practice."  
  
"How'd you survive?" Armadillomon asked.  
  
"Well, he can do rice, but that's about it. Kyle does a lot of the cooking  
when he's home nowadays."  
  
"I had to learn, or it'd be rice and take out every night!" Kyle yelled from  
the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, I'm trying!" Mikhail retorted.  
  
"You said that two frying pans ago!"  
  
"Three!" Growlithe replied. "Three pans, a pot, and one fire extinguisher."  
  
"Thanks!" Kyle called.  
  
Cody looked at Eevee and Growlithe. "Are they always like this?"  
  
Eevee shrugged. "Pretty much. Why don't you have a look around, it'll be  
about twenty minutes before Kyle lets his dad back into the kitchen..."  
  
Cody nodded, and started wandering around. He and Armadillomon went upstairs,  
and stopped by one of the rooms. "Must be his father's room." Armadillomon   
said, wandering in.  
  
"Wait!" Cody hissed. "We shouldn't go in!"  
  
Armadillomon looked at Cody oddly. "Eevee said we could look around. It's  
not like we're going to take anything."  
  
"I guess, but...huh?" Cody noticed something on Mikhail's night table, and  
picked it up.  
  
In the kitchen, Kyle was chipping away at the now hardened mess on the pan  
with a metal spatula. "I should get Marowak out, he'd have more luck on this.   
Honestly, how do you do this?"  
  
Mikhail shrugged. "Talent?"  
  
Cody came running down the stairs, almost tripping as he tried to turn and  
enter the kitchen. "What's up? Armadillomon didn't eat that pokechow I keep   
for Growlithe, did he?"  
  
"Please, where did you get this photo?" Cody asked.  
  
Mikhail looked up. "Oh, that? I got it from the Celadon Hospital, they have  
an unknown patient there, and thought I might recognize him. I was going to   
mention it to you, but with everything else going on, I kinda forgot." Kyle   
sighed. "I am hopeless, aren't I? Do you recognize him?"  
  
"I think so. I think he was a friend of my dad!"  
  
==Celadon City  
  
Ken looked around, still not certain about this. He had, at the invitation of  
Davis, come here to relax, or so he had been told. So far, the day had  
consisted of Davis dragging Ken around from store to store, with no real goal  
in mind. Davis had tried to get him into a video arcade, but Ken had been   
reluctant to go in.  
  
Finally, Davis turned around. "Ken? You alright?"  
  
Ken blinked. "Yes. It's...I'm not really into this sort of thing. Maybe I  
should have stayed home."  
  
"What? Look, Ken, the best way I know to relax is just to cut loose and have  
fun. And this town has to have some of the best stores I've ever seen. Even  
if they've never heard of Gundam 0083."  
  
"Or Magic Knights Rayearth." Veemon added.  
  
"Veemon." Davis whispered. "Ixnay on the Ayearthray." He looked up, hoping  
Ken hadn't heard that. "So, there must be something you'd like to look for."  
  
"Well..."  
  
Davis smirked. "A-HA! Alright, spill. Who is it?" At Ken's reaction, Davis  
stepped up his attack. "It's gotta be a girl. It's Yolei, isn't it? I've  
seen you looking in some gift stores when you thought I wasn't looking."  
  
"I think he's onto you." Wormmon said.  
  
Davis nodded. "Well, as the leader of the digidestined, I have to know these  
things."  
  
"Actually, June spelled it out for him." Veemon whispered. "It was when he  
was looking for something to get Melody."  
  
"Veemon!"  
  
"Well, why else were you looking in all those music stores?"  
  
The two humans were spared further embarrassment by their digimon when Kyle  
and Cody walked up. "Davis, Ken!" Kyle said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Nothing!" Ken and Davis said automatically, leveling glares at their digimon  
partners, willing them to keep quiet.  
  
"Okay..." Kyle said uncertainly. "Actually, Cody and I were heading to the  
Celadon Hospital. We just discovered something odd."  
  
==Indigo Plateau  
  
Some rubble shifted, and Larvitar regained consciousness. "Where...no, I've  
reverted to my rookie level! That angel will pay for this!" Larvitar looked   
around, scowling. "I must find another source of power. If I can find another   
destiny stone...wait, this is the pokemon world!"  
  
"Hey, over here!" a voice called. "A Larvitar! I'm gonna try capturing it!   
Gligar, GO!"  
  
Larvitar snarled. "I have no time for this." He ducked Gligar's first  
attack, used a Hyper Beam to knock him out, and ran off.  
  
The trainer ran over to check on his pokemon. "That Larvitar was...Gligar?   
What's wrong?" The pokemon had recovered, and was eyeing the path Larvitar had   
run down warily. He looked back at his trainer, and shook his head. "You  
don't want to go after him? Maybe I should use Wartortle instead?" Gligar  
shook his head again.  
  
Larvitar tore through more underbrush, pokemon scattering before him. "I can  
feel something ahead. I know this place. This is what the humans call Indigo   
Plateau, where they gather to hold their pathetic competitions." Larvitar   
smirked. "Well, maybe I can work off some of my frustrations. And find out  
what that mysterious power I can sense is."  
  
==Celadon Hospital  
  
It was interesting, to say the least. Once the digidestined had been escorted  
to the room, Ken and Cody had gasped, recognizing the person in the bed,  
playing with an Oddish. "You're Yukio Oikawa!" Cody gasped, double checking  
with the photo he had brought.  
  
The patient looked up. "Who? I'm sorry, I don't remember that name."  
  
"He has an extreme case of amnesia." the nurse explained. "He can't even  
remember his name. Are you sure his name is Yukio Oikawa?"  
  
Cody nodded. "I remember Grandpa showing me a photo of you with my father."  
  
"Your father?"  
  
"Hiroki Hida. I'm his son, Cody."  
  
Ken looked at Cody. "I know him too. I think he was at my brother's  
funeral." Ken looked again. "Yes, it was you. But...you look different now."   
Oikawa had looked more...sinister, Ken recalled.  
  
"Hi...Hiroki...I know that name..." Oikawa started to say, sitting up. He  
looked at Cody. "You have your father's eyes..." He looked at Ken. "I know  
you too. But from where?"  
  
"My brother Sam." Ken answered. "It was at his funeral. Do you remember?"  
  
"This is weirding me out." Davis whispered to Kyle.  
  
"I know. But how did he get from your world to mine, if he's not a  
digidestined?" Kyle replied.  
  
Oikawa picked up on what Kyle said. "World? Another world...an ocean...all  
black...no...no..." Oikawa settled down, as the nurse administered a sedative.  
  
"You should go now. He's just had a very nasty shock to his mind."  
  
"I'm sorry." Kyle said.  
  
"Don't be." The nurse answered. "We now have a name for him. And I have  
something I can work with."  
  
Kyle looked at the nurse carefully. "Sabrina?" he gasped.  
  
The 'nurse' nodded. "I had a feeling that something might come up if I kept  
an eye on him. I think that I can help rebuild his mind, now that I have   
something to work with. I-" Sabrina looked up. "Something's wrong."  
  
Kyle looked out the door, and spotted several doctors and nurses gathered  
around a small radio. Curious, he and Davis went over.  
  
"-we repeat, all trainers are urged to avoid the Indigo Plateau area. There  
is an extremely dangerous pokemon that has caused significant damage to the   
Stadium are. Early reports say that it might be a Larvitar, but it has  
demonstrated unusual power levels, defeating several pokemon with a single  
attack and hospitalizing their trainers."  
  
"Come on." Davis said, heading for the nearest computer.  
  
==Indigo Plateau  
  
It had been a spirited defense of Indigo Plateau. Several trainers that lived  
in the area, on hearing that there was a powerful pokemon in the area,  
immediately selected their strongest pokemon and went to challenge the  
mysterious intruder. However, they had not expected to be battling a pokemon  
that had had its power enhanced by the Dark Ocean! Thier initial plans of  
catching Larvitar had soon switched to simple self defense or all out assault  
as they found that Larvitar was too powerful to be restrained by traditional  
means.  
  
Larvitar finished with a final Machop that had been sent to fight him, then  
turned on the human trainers. "You're in my way!" he yelled, calling up a  
Sandstorm,   
driving the humans away. He could feel the power more clearly now. It was  
inside a building nearby. He realized he was in the actual Stadium now, where  
the Matches were actually held. The power was a short distance away. He  
quickly  
tore through the remaining trainers there, and made his way to a small, well  
appointed house. There was an old man just leaving it, something tucked under  
one arm. He turned to leave, and saw Larvitar there. "Give me that item, old   
man." Larvitar commanded him.  
  
The man stepped back, shaking his head, hiding any fear he felt. Larvitar  
started to advance when the ground around him tore apart, flinging the pokemon  
away.  
  
Larvitar recovered, looked at his attacker. "Mewtwo." he snarled.  
  
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. "You have no place here. Leave now, while you can."  
  
Larvitar smirked. "I have retained my Dark type status, even in this form. I  
can defeat you easily."  
  
"As Lady Devimon, or rather Sneasel, learned, there are many ways to utilize  
psychic powers. Observe." Mewtwo glanced at a large rock, and telekinetically   
threw it at Larvitar.  
  
"Old trick. Surely you can do better? I-" Larvitar's insults were stopped as  
Mewtwo vanished, reappeared behind him, and swiped a fist across the back of  
the evil pokemon's head. "How...?"  
  
"Teleport, combined with Rock Smash. Shall I continue?" Mewtwo looked at the  
old man. "Leave now. This will be...dangerous. I will hold him here as long   
as I can."  
  
Mr. Goodshow nodded. He knew, somehow, that the Larvitar was after the very  
thing he had spent his life guarding. He turned, ran, silently thanking every  
god he knew that the mysterious pokemon had come to save him. The flame of  
Moltres had to be protected.  
  
==  
  
Kyle, Cody, Ryo, Davis, and Ken all made it to the plateau about the time that  
Larvitar and Mewtwo started to fight it out. As they neared the stadium, they  
saw two figures standing there, waiting for them.  
  
"Sneasel!" Eevee growled. "And Arukenimon, to boot."  
  
"One boot, coming up!" Davis yelled. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Raidramon, the storm of friendship!"  
  
"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"  
  
"Eevee, digivolve to...Flareon!"  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"  
  
"Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!"  
  
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"  
  
Arukenimon smirked, switching from her human form to her more powerful digimon  
form. "Bring it on, boys, there's enough to go around!"  
  
Sneasel nodded. "Sneasel, dark digivolve to...Lady Devimon!"  
  
"Arcanine, Flareon, go after Lady Devimon!" Kyle yelled, taking out a pokeball.   
"Scizor, give 'em a hand!" Scizor appeared and immediately went after the  
fallen angel. "Can you cover Arukenimon?" he called to Davis.  
  
Davis caught on. "Ken, you and Ryo go after Larvitar, Kyle and I will take  
care of these creeps!" Ken nodded, and he and Ryo, their digimon following.   
"All right, you overgrown spider, I'm gonna squash you! Raidramon, attack!"  
  
"You don't have to yell! Thunder Blast!" Arukenimon blocked the attack, and  
countered, forcing Raidramon to keep his distance. "Davis, she's an ultimate!  
I'm not strong enough like this!"  
  
Davis nodded, wishing he had a partner to DNA digivolve with. "Then we'll  
have to take it up a level! Digivolve to Exveemon!" Raidramon glowed,  
reverted to Veemon, and digivolved.  
  
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon! V-Laser!" That forced Arukenimon back a few   
steps. "Much better! Hey, how are you three doing!" he called to the pokemon   
battling Lady Devimon. "I could use a hand over here!" Arcanine broke off and   
helped Exveemon with Arukenimon. Sneasel tried to stop him, but wound up  
having to duck a swing from Ankylomon's tail.  
  
==  
  
Mr. Goodshow stared awestruck as Mewtwo and Larvitar battled. Both appeared  
to be evenly matched in terms of power. A few seconds later, two more  
creatures, one a Charizard, the other looking vaguely like a giant green  
Beedrill joined Mewtwo. As he watched, he clutched the case he was holding  
more tightly.   
"Shame that there isn't a camera crew here." he muttered. "We could use  
something to  
inspire the trainers around here." A second later, A Scizor joined them.  
  
"That is the least of your problems." The Indigo League chairman swung  
around. Standing before him was a hooded and cloaked figure, eyes glowing a  
menacing blue under the cowl of his hood. Its hands were visible, but they  
were blue,  
and resembled claws. The being's very presence inspired terror. "The flame of  
Moltres, if you please."  
  
Mr. Goodshow stepped back, shaking his head. "No! This is the symbol of the  
Indigo league. I can't let you have it."  
  
"Admirable. But futile." Demon's arm shot out, snatching the case from  
Goodshow. A second fist landed in the human's gut, dropping him. Demon  
regarded the unconscious form impassively, then left. The human was not worth  
the energy to destroy. Cradling the case, Demon walked over to the ledge of  
the stadium and watched the battle. "Impressive." he said to no one in  
particular. "His power has increased, as I expected it would. He is now a  
match for several champion level digimon in his current form." Mewtwo launched  
another bolt at Larvitar, then stopped, looking up at the stands. Demon and  
Mewtwo regarded each other. "Another one. Also of impressive power."  
  
Mewtwo snarled, feeling the power coming from Demon. He formed a psibolt, and  
hurled it at Demon. Demon caught the blast as if it were a ball, and balanced  
it on his finger, examining it. "A psychic bolt, focussed to this degree. You  
should be proud, many digimon never achieve this level of refinement in their   
psychic attacks." He added his own energy, and threw the bolt back at Mewtwo.   
The pokemon parried the blast, sending it flying into the far end of the stands.  
  
Ken whirled around, and spotted Demon. "Who's that?"  
  
"An evil digimon of extreme power." Mewtwo replied. "I will deal with him."   
Mewtwo flew at Demon, readying another attack.  
  
Demon teleported, reappearing by Larvitar. "You were looking for this, I  
believe." he said, handing the case to Larvitar. Larvitar took it, broke the  
case open, and seemed to absorb the flame that was inside it.  
  
"What is that?" Ken asked, confused.  
  
"That flame contains the spiritual essence of Moltres, a legendary pokemon.   
It has a high level of psychic energy in it." Mewtwo answered. "Attack now,  
before he can finish absorbing it!" Everyone threw their strongest attacks at  
Larvitar. There was  
an explosion, and a large cloud of dust was kicked up.  
  
Kyle, Davis, and Cody ran in. "Sneasel and Arukenimon just vanished." Cody  
said. "What happened here?"  
  
"Your end, that's what." Demon answered. The dust cloud cleared, and Magnatar  
stood there, energy crackling around his body.  
  
"Cody," Davis whispered, "get to the pokemon center and get everyone here."   
Cody started to protest, but felt Armadillomon nudge him, nodding his head.   
Quickly, the two left.  
  
"Asking for help?" Ken asked Davis. "That doesn't seem like you."  
  
Davis shrugged. "Shakouomon managed to beat this guy once, so we'd better get  
TK here. Just don't tell him I said that, alright?"  
  
Ken smirked, nodding. "Ryo, we're going to need Dino Beemon to keep this guy  
in check."  
  
"Stingmon!"  
  
"Charizard!"  
  
"DNA Digivolve to...Dino Beemon!"  
  
"Don't forget me!" Flareon called. "Flareon, digivolve to...Pyroangemon!"   
Larvitar snarled, seeing the familiar angel reappear.   
  
Pyroangemon raised his sword, ready to attack, but Dino Beemon ran in front of  
him, charging wildly at Magnatar. The smaller digimon dodged Dino Beemon's  
swings easily, as Exveemon, Arcanine, and Pyroangemon battled Demon.  
  
Kyle stepped back. "We're in trouble." he said, watching his pokemon  
attacking Demon.  
  
"Why?" Davis asked. "We've got him outnumbered!"  
  
Ken looked at Demon, and realized what was happening. "He's just playing with  
them." Ken said, stunned. "Demon's not even using half his power."  
  
"Dino Beemon!" Ryo yelled. "Forget Magnatar, go after Demon, he's the bigger  
threat!"  
  
Demon looked up, just as he deflected a V-Laser and a Fire Blast. "Well, that  
won't do, will it? Chaos Flare!"  
  
==Tokyo  
  
TK got up, hearing the phone ring. No one else was home, so he decided to  
answer it, rather than let the machine take it as he usually did on Saturdays.  
"Takashi residence."  
  
"TK!" Cody's voice came over the phone, slight edge of fear in it. "You have  
to get to the Indigo Plateau right now! Davis and the others are fighting  
Larvitar and LadyDevimon!"  
  
"Whaah? Cody, when did this happen?" Cody started to reply, but then there  
was a screech on the other end of the line, and the signal was cut off.   
"Cody? CODY!"  
  
Next Episode  
The battle against Demon and Magnatar takes a turn for the worse as the  
combatants are pulled into the Dark Ocean, where Magnatar is able to reach his  
ultimate level: MetalDevidramon. Not even Pyroangemon and Dino Beemon can  
stop this  
new Digimon. How will the digidestined escape? Find out next time, on Digimon:  
Digicross...  
'Paildramon, take aim!' 


	28. Digicross TV Series 27 Paildramon, take ...

June leaned back in her chair, stretching. She really hated these short essay  
assignments her teacher seemed to enjoy handing out. "This is so lame! Why do  
we have to know about the fall of Constantinople?" Sighing, she leaned  
forward. "I wish I was born on Kyle's world. I could get a year off school  
just by asking." A sudden noise got her attention. Her digivice, which she  
had put beside her notebook, had started beeping. Curious, she picked it up.   
As she touched her digivice, June felt a sudden sense of dread. "Kyle." she  
whispered, standing up.   
  
"June! Phone call!" her mother yelled from the living room. Worried, June  
left her room and went to the living room, taking the phone from her mother.  
  
"June, it's TK! We have to get to the Pokemon world right away! Can you meet  
me at Yolei's house?"  
  
"Right." June answered. She hung up, and went to the door, putting her shoes  
on.  
  
"June?" her mother asked. "Where are you going? Don't you have to finish  
that essay?"  
  
"It's done, I'll just proofread it tonight." June replied. "I have to go now.  
Bye mom!"  
  
==  
Digicross Episode 27  
'Paildramon, take aim!'  
  
Metal Devidramon created by Ninetalesuk and AnT. Almost (but not quite)  
everything else is owned by either Bandai or Nintendo. Shame, I'd love to get  
some money off that action, but I'd just get sued for copyright infringement or  
something lame like that...  
  
==  
  
==Indigo Plateau, 5 minutes earlier.  
  
"Chaos Flare!" Demon's attack blossomed out of his outstretched hand, the  
wave of fire threatening to consume everything in its path. At the last  
second, Mewtwo and Pyroangemon blocked the wave of fire, protecting the humans  
there. Arcanine, Scizor, Exveemon, and Dino Beemon all jumped clear, trusting  
that the other two monsters would be able to stop the attack. To their credit,  
they did, but only barely. Exhausted, the angel collapsed, reverting to Eevee  
as he did.   
  
Kyle yelled, trying to get to his pokemon. Ryo stopped him, pointing behind  
the trainer. He looked, and shuddered when he saw how powerful the attack  
Demon used was.  
  
Indigo Stadium was -gone-.  
  
"How do we beat that kind of power?" Ken asked, clenching his fist.  
  
"Head on!" Arcanine barked. "Extreme Speed!" Arcanine charged Demon, but the  
evil digimon batted Arcanine away without any apparent effort. The pokemon  
rolled, recovered, and launched a Fire Blast, which had little more success.   
"Okay, I'm open to alternatives here."  
  
"We need Shakouomon and Sylphimon!" Davis whispered. "I hope Cody got through  
to TK and the others. I don't think Dino Beemon can take those two on and win!"  
  
"Won't know until we try! Everyone, focus on Magnatar! V-Laser!" Exveemon's  
attack slammed into Magnatar, forcing the digimon back. Scizor, Dino Beemon,  
Arcanine, and Mewtwo also attacked.  
  
Magnatar recovered from the attacks, and stared at the attacking digimon. "My  
turn. Devil Shot!" Magnatar fired several dozen missiles at the digimon,  
Mewtwo, and the humans. Demon, watching this, nodded, and let Magnatar  
continue his attack.  
  
When it had stopped, Dino Beemon was down on one knee, while Mewtwo,  
Growlithe, Eevee, and Veemon were unconscious. Ryo and Kyle were knocked out,  
while Ken and Davis were hurt. Demon looked over the carnage. "Impressive,  
but I think it is over, and it is time to claim my prize. Him." he said,  
indicating Kyle. With a wave of his hand, Kyle's body levitated up, floating  
slowly towards Demon. "Perhaps he will serve me better than Ken did." Demon  
said, taking hold of Kyle and slinging the boy over his shoulder.  
  
"No...not that! Put him down!" Ken yelled, horrified at what Demon was  
planning. "Dino Beemon, don't let Demon get away!" Beside Ken, there was a  
shout. Scizor had recovered, and was charging up with Swords Dance, energy  
crackling over his claws and wings. Scizor attacked, darting around Dino  
Beemon, heading straight for Demon. He hit a forcefield and was thrown back.  
  
Demon looked at Scizor, who was trying to get up. "Impressive. Yes, he will  
do much better than Ken did, if he can raise a being as strong as you. Come,  
Magnatar." A ripple opened, and Demon and Magnatar walked through, leaving  
this dimension.  
  
Davis didn't hesitate. He got up, grabbed Veemon, and ran through the portal,  
followed by Ken, Ryo, Scizor, and Dino Beemon. "Go check on Cody!" Ken yelled.  
Mewtwo tried to stop them, but the digidestined were already through. Mewtwo  
watched as the portal closed a second later. He then levitated Growlithe and  
Eevee, and began looking for the nearest surviving Pokemon center.  
  
==Digital World, half an hour later  
  
"They're both..." June whispered.  
  
Mewtwo nodded. "Demon took Kyle, then left for the Dark Ocean with Magnatar.   
Ken, Davis, and Ryo went after him, as did Veemon, Scizor, and Dino Beemon. I  
fear they will try to do to Kyle what they did to Ken."  
  
"You mean they'll turn him into another digimon emperor?" Yolei gasped. "Then  
we'd better go after them!"  
  
"We can't, yet." Gennai said, walking over to the group. "We don't have the  
equipment at Ken's old base to create a portal, and building one here is taking  
a lot of time and energy."  
  
"Didn't you go there, Kari?" Hawkmon asked.  
  
Kari shook her head. "No. That first time, I was brought there by Dagomon's  
servants. I don't know how you got there, TK."  
  
TK glanced at Kari. "It was luck, mostly. I saw you in a shadowy portal, and  
jumped through."  
  
Gennai looked at TK and Kari. "I didn't know that. Could you do it again?"  
  
Kari shrugged. "I don't know how I did it the first time." She looked at  
June. "Don't worry, we'll find them. I'm sure they'll be alright. Davis is  
with them." June looked at Kari, surprised. "Davis can be stubborn and a bit  
dense, but he has a way of getting out of impossible situations."  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
"I'd say this is about a seven on the 'impossible situation' meter." Ryo  
grumbled, watching as Dino Beemon and Scizor cut a swath of destruction through  
various minions of the Dark Ocean.  
  
"I'd hate to see what you'd call a ten." Davis replied. "Come on, Veemon,  
wake up. We need you!"  
  
"Allow me." Ryo said, taking out a small vial. "This ought to do it..." He  
poured some liquid into Veemon's mouth.  
  
The reaction was instantaneous. "GWAARGH!" Veemon shouted. "WHAT IS THAT  
STUFF?"  
  
Ken looked up. "Isn't that the same stuff you used to revive Wormmon when we  
were fighting Millenniumon's forces?"  
  
Ryo nodded. "Powdered Energy Root, a bit of Heal Powder, and a dash of  
pokenip. Good for what ails you."  
  
"It tastes like a Sukamon threw up in it!" Veemon groaned. "Davis' gym socks  
aren't this yucky!" Veemon wobbled a bit. "I think I can see through time..."  
Veemon took the water bottle that Ryo offered, and drank the entire content of  
it. "I'll never taste again." he sighed.  
  
Ken looked over the battlefield. "Dino Beemon and Scizor are holding their  
own, but we have to get through. Davis, can you and Veemon get through?"  
  
Davis nodded. "Veemon, you'd better go as Raidramon. There's too many flying  
digimon for you to get through as Exveemon." Veemon nodded. "Digiarmour  
energize!"  
  
"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Raidramon, the storm of friendship!" Davis  
hopped on, lining up with the castle on the other side of the battle line.  
  
"Vaporeon, go with him!" Ryo called, tossing a pokeball out. A blue pokemon  
that looked a bit like Flareon, but with a fishlike tail, appeared. "He's  
Vaporeon, a water type. He's got good water and ice attacks, and better  
defenses. Go!" Vaporeon hopped up behind Davis, and the three set out.  
  
==  
  
Inside the castle, Magnatar watched the battle. "I should be out there." he  
growled.  
  
"Patience." Arukenimon replied. "One of them's already coming this way. It's  
that annoying one, the boy with the goggles. He'll be easy to take care of."  
  
"Actually," Demon said, appearing before them, "perhaps you should go out on  
the battleground. Dino Beemon is being a bit too effective in disposing of my  
minions. It should be a good test of your power. I believe Sneasel and  
Arukenimon can deal with Davis and Veemon." Arukenimon nodded, shifting into  
her spider form. Magnatar bowed and left the room. "He's very close. One  
more battle should push him over."  
  
"Over what?" Arukenimon asked, curious.  
  
"When I redesigned Larvitar's DNA, I retained his ability to grow and evolve  
from experience gained in battle, in addition to absorbing power from the  
Destiny Stones. The power he has drawn from that flame of Moltres and the  
Destiny Stones is remarkable. And the experience he has gained has already  
turned him into a formidable warrior."  
  
"Can he be controlled?" Arukenimon asked. "And what of that trainer you  
brought in?"  
  
Demon nodded. "He is powerful, but not too bright. And his power is not  
stable; he will lose evolutions if he is beaten in a battle, like any partnered  
digimon. As for Kyle," Demon looked over his shoulder, "he is resisting the  
spore almost as readily as Kari did. Of course, without the power of the crest  
of Light, he will not last forever."  
  
"You don't sound worried."  
  
Demon shrugged. "He was bait for Ken and Ryo, nothing more. If I get a new  
Emperor in the process, so be it. Otherwise, it's one less digidestined to  
worry about."  
  
==Digital World  
  
"Why didn't we create a portal here when Kari was kidnapped by Sneasel?" Cody  
asked. Above him, Azulongmon floated in midair, waiting for the signal to  
start.  
  
"Because," Baihumon replied, "building portals to the Dark Ocean is dangerous  
work. And I'd rather not have Demon and his lackeys fall right on Primary  
Village if we can help it. But there is no choice now, we have to get those  
three back. And I've called in the best portal makers around. Ah, here they  
are now. Look."  
  
Cody looked, first to the north, where a dull thumping sound was heard. in  
the distance, Cody saw what looked like a giant turtle with two heads. "Behold  
Ebonwumon, ancient guardian of the northern realm." Baihumon said calmly. "He  
is the oldest of the Guardians of the digital world. If you have some time,  
ask him about the old days. He's got a few tales in him." A raptor's cry to  
the south caused Cody to spin around. A giant red bird was flying from the  
south, towards where Azulongmon was. "And that is Zhuquiaomon. She guards the   
Southern realms, and is the one to ask about fighting the Dark Ocean. This is   
the first time we have all been gathered together since...well, since the Dark   
Masters sealed us away."  
  
TK walked over, a bit awestruck. "Where have they been all this time?"  
  
Gennai answered. "It took time for the Guardians to rebuild their power.   
Even now, it might not be enough to help, but we will do our best."  
  
Some distance away, June sat, watching the preparations. Beside her, Elecmon  
sat with her, waiting. "Are you alright?" Kari asked, going over to her.  
  
"Davis and I used to fight a lot, before all this happened." June answered,  
not really paying attention. "And now that we've started getting along with  
each other, he's gone and done something stupid...And they're going to make  
Kyle into another Emperor, like they did Ken." She looked up, eyes red. "I  
don't know if I could handle that."  
  
"Don't worry." Kari replied, sitting beside her. "It'll take a lot more than  
some evil digimon to make Kyle go bad."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Kari smiled. "Sure as I'm going to be the maid of honour at your wedding."  
  
June blinked. "Maid...I haven't thought..."  
  
"You're lying." Kari teased. "I've seen the way you two have looked at each  
other."  
  
"That's my line." June replied weakly, smile starting to appear. "I-" she  
gasped, looking up, clutching her digivice as she did. Beside her, Elecmon  
tensed up.  
  
==Dark Ocean.  
  
Kyle, still unconscious, writhed as the Dark Spore floated over him, trying to  
enter him. Dark energy crackled over his body. As Demon had observed, Kyle  
was resisting the evil object, but his willpower was fading.  
  
Sneasel stood there, watching the process. "Demon has some interest in you  
humans." She said. "I never saw the use of you myself. All you do is run  
around and make pokemon fight each other." One of her claws extended, glinting  
in the dull light as ice formed along the edges. "It would be much easier to  
end your life now. I wonder if that's why humans never fight pokemon  
themselves. Are you that scared?" Sneasel hopped up on the table, claw raised  
to strike. "It would be something to see your friends find a corpse, after all  
the effort they went through, wouldn't it?" She stood there, just staring at  
Kyle. Finally, she snorted. "You're not worth it."  
  
"Sneasel," Arukenimon called from the next room, "those children are coming  
closer. We had better get ready." Sneasel hopped down and left.  
  
==  
  
Scizor's Hyper Beam tore through more dark digimon, clearing the way for Dino  
Beemon to advance. "Kyle sure raised that bug well." Ryo commented. I wonder   
how Davis is doing?"  
  
Ahead of them, Davis, Raidramon, and Vaporeon picked their way through the  
battlefield. Davis marveled at Vaporeon's abilities; the small pokemon had  
managed to slip around several enemies and either freeze them, soak them with  
water to assist Raidramon's own attacks, or just disorient them with his Haze  
ability. They easily made the castle, most of the forces concentrating on Dino  
Beemon, Scizor, and the very angry Nidoking that Ryo just released (Mind you,  
Nidokings are usually steamed about something -ed).  
  
Davis led the way, digivice held out. "This way." he whispered, Vaporeon and  
Raidramon following him.  
  
"Watch out for booby traps." Raidramon replied, also whispering.  
  
"Vaporeon?" Vaporeon asked, wondering why they were all whispering.   
  
"Come on, this is an old castle." Davis replied to what he guessed was  
Vaporeon's question. "They always have some sort of hidden trapdoor, or  
pitfall, or something really gothic like that. It's in all the movies." Davis  
stepped forward, then heard a 'click' as his foot touched something. "Like  
that." he groaned.  
  
Raidramon and Vaporeon backed up, not sure what to do. A second later, a  
hidden door opened up, revealing two very familiar monsters standing there.   
"Somehow," Arukenimon grinned, "I knew you'd step on that switch. Lady  
Devimon, shall we?"  
  
Beside the giant spider, Lady Devimon smirked. "Of course. Darkness Wave!"  
  
==  
  
The process, while complex, had taken a relatively short amount of time.   
Gennai had said that combining the powers of the four Guardians, while making  
sure that they were tuned to a specific frequency, was the tricky part. The  
whole process had taken a few minutes.   
  
"It's almost done." Gennai said, standing by the children. "Now we have to  
make sure the portal opens up where we want it to, and that nothing can come  
through unless we want it to. We should be able to see something through the  
portal...now!"  
  
==  
  
Magnatar strode up to where Dino Beemon was, ignoring the press of other  
digimon around him. When he was close enough, he powered up (Dragon Ball Z  
power up, that is; a lot of shouting and glowing -ed) and flew at Dino Beemon,  
landing a punch on the mutant digimon's head. Dino Beemon was driven back by  
the force of the blow. Shaking his head, he got up, challenging Magnatar.  
  
"You are a brute, and a dumb one at that." Magnatar taunted. "Taking you  
apart will be a pleasure, if only to get rid of your ugly face. Devil Shot!"  
  
"Irritant Buzz!" Dino Beemon replied, using his sonic attack to counter the  
swarm of missiles. He took a swipe at Magnatar with his Kaiser Blade, flames  
trailing behind the attack as Magnatar dodged it.  
  
"Looks like an even match." Ryo said, watching the two battle. Ken suddenly  
jumped, knocking Ryo over as a digimon tried to attack the two unprotected  
humans. Nidoking and Scizor dispatched the digimon, then moved to better  
protect Ken and Ryo. "Thanks."  
  
"This is taking too long." Ken replied. "We have to get into that castle,  
we'd have a better chance in there than out here."  
  
"Yeah, but tell that to him." Ryo replied, indicating Dino Beemon. "I can't  
understand why he's so hard to control; none of the other DNA digimon have been  
this wild."  
  
Not paying any attention to this, Dino Beemon took another swipe at Magnatar,  
then followed it with a hark kick, which managed to connect with the armoured  
pokemon. Magnatar howled as Dino Beemon used another Kaiser Blade, managing to  
shatter the armour on Magnatar's left arm and chest, and forcing him to crash  
to the ground.  
  
"No..." Magnatar growled, forcing himself to stand in spite of the pain. "I  
won't lose...I will not lose to some inferior...WASTE OF DATA! Magnatar,  
digivolve to...METAL DEVIDRAMON!"  
  
==  
  
After the day was over, June realized that she probably should have waited for  
the other digidestined to get ready. Worried as she was about Kyle and Davis,  
she didn't wait, and jumped through the portal as soon as it finished forming,  
Elecmon digivolving to Leomon and joining her.  
  
When she appeared, she was inside a castle at one end of a long hallway.   
Looking around, she saw Leomon getting up. "Are you alright?"  
  
Leomon nodded. "Dashing through was very foolish, June."  
  
"I know. But this is my brother and my boyfriend we're talking about. I  
didn't want to wait."  
  
Sighing, Leomon shrugged. "Well, we're here now. Can you find either of them  
with your D-3?"  
  
June took out her digivice, and held it up, ready to start scanning. She  
never got the chance, as Flamedramon crashed through the wall a second later,  
Davis and Vaporeon running after him. Lady Devimon and Arukenimon followed  
them. "Well, well," Arukenimon taunted, "it seems the avenging girlfriend has  
arrived. Come to save your little pet?"  
  
"June!" Davis yelled. "Get out of here! Flamedramon, attack!" Davis had  
switched Veemon from Raidramon to Flamedramon, who was better in close fights  
like this, just before Arukenimon and Lady Devimon attacked.  
  
"Leomon!" June yelled.  
  
"On it! Beast Sword!" Leomon jumped at Arukenimon, sword extended. The two  
digimon fell over, a tangle of arms and legs.  
  
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon's attack drove Lady Devimon back. "Go after  
Kyle!" he yelled. "We'll take care of these two here!"  
  
"June! Go with him!" Leomon yelled. June nodded, and followed her brother.   
"You too!" he said to Vaporeon, who nodded and followed.   
  
==  
  
"Is that a Devidramon?" Ken asked, incredulous.  
  
Ryo took out his pokedex, switching it to scan the new digimon. "Metal  
Devidramon, a Metal Demon Dragon digimon. Ultimate level, Virus type. His  
special attacks are Red Laser, Crimson Metal Claw, and Dra-Storm Bomber. I  
think we're in trouble."  
  
(Might want to cue up 'Instruments of Destruction here')  
  
Dino Beemon roared, charging. Metal Devidramon waited, grabbed the DNA  
digimon and hurled him to the ground. "This is too easy! Come, give me your  
full power!" Dino Beemon's wings started flapping at a high rate of speed,  
generating the sonic energy needed for his Irritant Buzz attack. "Pathetic!"  
he yelled, hovering in midair, unaffected by the blast. "Maybe this will get  
some response! RED LASER!" Metal Devidramon's eyes lit up, turning a bright  
red, and emitted a powerful blast of energy, striking Dino Beemon, forcing him  
down again. "I'm waiting! Where's the great warrior that defeated  
Milleniumon?"  
  
"Rrrr...KAISER BLADE!" Dino Beemon flew straight at Metal Devidramon, swords  
extending out of the back of his wrists. He made two fiery slashes, eliciting  
a grunt out of the evil dragon digimon. This was followed up with another  
Irritant Buzz, and then a hard kick to the head.  
  
"Are you quite finished?" Metal Devidramon asked, unhurt.  
  
Ryo stood up. "Dino Beemon! GET OUT OF THERE!"  
  
"Ryo!" Ken gasped.  
  
"We don't have a choice. Dino Beemon's outmatched by that thing. There's no  
way we can beat him, especially here." Ryo glanced at Dino Beemon again. "I  
said GET OUT OF THERE!"  
  
Dino Beemon was torn, caught between his loyalty to Ryo and Ken, and his  
berserker instinct. "Smart boy." Metal Devidramon taunted. "I'd have  
listened. Let me make up your mind for you. Dra-Storm Bomber!" Glowing  
silver, Metal Devidramon launched a huge wave of energy, slamming it into Dino  
Beemon and splitting him back into Charmander and Wormmon almost immediately.   
Seeing this, Scizor broke off combat and jumped, grabbing the two unconscious  
digimon, carrying them over to Ryo and Ken.  
  
"Charmander! Come on, stay with me!" Ryo cradled his pokemon in his arms,  
flame on Charmander's tail guttering.  
  
"Too...powerful..." Wormmon muttered. "Ken, I'm sorry..."  
  
Ryo checked his pack. "I've only got one revive left, but I don't think  
either digimon can take it in their condition." As he spoke, he saw Metal  
Devidramon land and slowly walk towards them, evil grin on his face.  
  
"I can." Wormmon said. "Give it to me!"  
  
"Wormmon..." Ken whispered.  
  
"Ken, there's no choice! Scizor and Nidoking are almost out of energy, and  
Charmander's too badly hurt to be any good." Ryo nodded, and handed the phial  
to Ken. Ken opened it up, and poured the contents down Wormmon's throat.   
"Still tastes like refried Whamon vomit." he coughed, before struggling up.   
"Ken, I have to digivolve. Please?"  
  
Ken nodded. "Be careful." he whispered, taking out his digivice.  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...STINGMON!"  
  
==  
  
(Gullwhacker recommends switching 'Instruments of Destruction' for 'Dark Wing',  
Devimon's theme. Good ear, that kid -ed)  
  
"Kyle!" June yelled, spotting the trainer in a room down a hallway. She and  
her brother had been running for the last few minutes trying to find Kyle. The  
two of them ran into the room, checking to see if Kyle was even alive. "Come  
on, get up!" Davis found Kyle's digivice, and joined his sister.  
  
"He's out cold. I...hey, what's that?" Davis asked, indicating a small sphere  
positioned over Kyle's forehead.  
  
"I think it's one of those Dark Spores." June replied. "It's what turned Ken  
into the Emperor. We have to get it away from him." June reached out to grab  
it, but Davis stopped her.  
  
"Don't touch it!" he hissed. "It might get you instead. I have an idea."   
Davis took out his D-3, pointing it at the Spore. "Follow my lead."  
  
Anxiously, June did so. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Well, these things act like the black gears that Devimon used to control  
digimon, right?"  
  
June caught on. "So we can use our digivices to destroy the spore, just like  
Tai and the others used their digivices to destroy the gears!" Smirking, Davis  
nodded, aiming his digivice and Kyle's at the spore. June aimed her digivice  
as well, and with her free hand, took Kyle's hand, willing him to fight just a  
little longer. The three digivices lit up, and the spore started to  
disintegrate. After a minute, it was gone.  
  
"Yes!" Davis yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "Am I a genius or what?"  
  
"Genius!" June said, hugging her brother. "Come on, help me get Kyle out of  
here."  
  
"Must you leave so soon?" Demon asked, appearing in the room.  
  
==  
  
"Static Force!"  
  
"Justice Beams!"  
  
The two attacks slammed into Metal Devidramon, forcing the ultimate digimon  
away from Stingmon. TK, Cody, Kari, and Yolei came running towards Ken and  
Ryo. "We came as soon as we could!" TK yelled. "The Guardians managed to open  
a portal here, but we have to get out of here. Have you seen June? She ran in  
ahead of us."  
  
Ken shook his head. "No. And Davis went ahead to find Kyle."  
  
"Who's that?" Yolei asked, indicating Metal Devidramon, who was starting to  
get up. Ryo quickly explained how Metal Devidramon appeared.  
  
"Do you have something to say now that my back ISN'T turned?" Metal Devidramon  
asked, facing Shakkoumon and Silphymon.  
  
Shakkoumon raised his arms. "Actually, yes! Harmonious Spirit!" A small  
hole opened, and Shakkoumon released a swarm of razor-edged discs, each one  
hitting Metal Devidramon and exploding. Silphymon added another energy blast,  
driving Metal Devidramon away from the humans. "Stingmon, go find the others!"  
  
"Wait for me!" Ken said. "We can track them with my digivice!" Stingmon  
landed, picked up Ken, and flew to the castle.   
  
"An open portal!" Metal Devidramon growled. "That will do nicely! Out of my  
way, you over grown teapot!"  
  
"That's MISTER Teapot to you!" Shakkoumon snarled, launching more disks.  
  
"They're starting to move to the portal we opened!" Kari said. "We can't let  
them get through!"  
  
"What's on the other side?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Primary Village." Cody answered.  
  
"Are you sure Davis wasn't with you?" Ryo asked sarcastically. "'Cause that's  
gotta be the DUMBEST place to open a gateway to the Dark Ocean."  
  
"It's not like we had a choice!" Yolei yelled. "Someone had to go in and save  
your bacon!"  
  
"Can we deal with this later?" TK asked. "Scizor, can you cover us as we move  
to the portal? Silphymon and Shakkoumon are too busy with Metal Devidramon."  
  
"Handled." Scizor replied. He and Nidoking started forcing a path through to  
the portal.  
  
==  
  
Davis and Vaporeon were tossed aside by Demon. "This is the second time  
digidestined have managed to penetrate my home dimension without my permission.  
I must admit, I am impressed by your tenacity. And annoyed by it." He  
advanced on June, clawed arm extended. "I suppose I shall have to make an  
example out of all of you."  
  
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Leomon roared, crashing through a wall and slamming into  
Demon. Veemon came sailing through a few seconds later, followed by Arukenimon  
and Lady Devimon.  
  
"We're not finished with you yet!" Arukenimon cackled. She fired a web at  
Leomon, tangling the warrior up. Demon kicked him away.  
  
"Veemon! Digivolve!" Davis yelled.  
  
Veemon got up. "Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon!"  
  
"It's getting crowded in here!" Lady Devimon snarled, taking a swipe at  
Exveemon. "Hey! Put him back!" she yelled, as she spotted June and Davis  
carrying Kyle. She shouted as Leomon, freeing himself from the web, pulled his  
sword and took a swipe at her, gashing her arm. He followed it up with his  
Fist of the Beast King, sending the Ultimate digimon flying.  
  
"Just a little further...Jeez, he must weigh a ton!" Davis grumbled, dragging  
Kyle with him. Vaporeon was with him, having recovered enough to walk. Demon  
raised a hand and launched a fireball at the three.  
  
"DAVIS!" June yelled, running and shoving her brother and Kyle out of the path  
of the attack.  
  
Davis watched in horror as the attack sped towards his sister. There was an  
explosion, and the fireball suddenly struck a wall of rock. When the smoke  
cleared, Davis saw that Stingmon had flown through the wall and managed to  
block the attack. "I hope we're not too late!" Stingmon said. He held Ken and  
June in his arms.  
  
"Looks like the odds just got better." Exveemon grinned, trying to punch out  
Arukenimon.  
  
"We got what we came for!" Leomon yelled. "We'd better leave while we can!"  
  
"You're not leaving!" Arukenimon roared, trying to get around Exveemon. That  
earned her a right hook to her jaw, followed by an uppercut, and a V-Laser.   
Arukenimon dropped, out cold.  
  
"Guess she had a glass jaw!" Exveemon cracked, massaging his fist. A wave of  
dark energy struck him, sending him back.  
  
"Thanks." Lady Devimon said. "I needed a clear shot. Darkness Wave!"   
Vaporeon let off a howl, releasing an Ice Beam to counter the attack. "Are you  
TRYING to annoy me?" Lady Devimon hissed. "Do you really think I'm in the same  
league as you?"  
  
"Yes!" Stingmon snarled, swinging a red energy blade at the angel.  
  
"Enough." Demon said. "Chaos Flare!" Leomon dove to the ground, covering  
June, Davis, and Kyle. Stingmon flew up, carrying Ken clear of the flames.   
  
"This is nuts!" Davis hissed. "We need Shakkoumon and Silphymon; our digimon  
aren't strong enough to fight this guy!" As he looked, he saw Leomon glow and  
revert to Elecmon. "Okay, Ken, this is where you tell me Azulongmon's gonna  
show up and save us, right?"  
  
"I only wish." Ken replied. "Davis-"  
  
"Hey, we're not finished yet." Davis replied.  
  
Oddly, Ken felt buoyed by Davis' determination. "You're right. We still have  
to get your sister out of here. All the other digidestined are outside  
fighting Metal Devidramon."  
  
"Metal WHO?" Exveemon asked. "Never mind. One fight at a time. I can't  
afford to worry about tomorrow right now."  
  
"Good policy." Lady Devimon said. "Darkness Wave!"  
  
"Chaos Flare!"  
  
"Exveemon, keep fighting!" Davis yelled.  
  
"Stingmon, don't give up!" Ken yelled. As he did, he felt a strange warmth.   
Checking, he found that it was coming from the crest of kindness that he  
carried with him. The small item was glowing fiercely now, and Stingmon was  
glowing with it.  
  
Everything seemed to slow down. Without knowing how he knew, Ken held his  
digivice out, aiming it at Stingmon. Davis did likewise, grinning as he did.   
Exveemon started glowing too, the same colour as Stingmon.  
  
"EXVEEMON!"  
  
"STINGMON!"  
  
"DNA DIGIVOLVE TO...PAILDRAMON!"  
  
==  
  
"What is THAT?" Yolei gasped as part of the castle exploded outwards.  
  
"Davis." TK whispered. Then, squinting, he made out a figure appearing. "I  
see something coming!" Metal Devidramon backed off, not sure what to make of  
this new development. The new digimon flew to the group of digidestined,  
landed, and set the digidestined who were in the castle down, along with  
Elecmon and Vaporeon.  
  
Ryo looked up. "Dino Beemon...no it can't be." he said, glancing at  
Charmander, still unconscious. "But Stingmon's in there, I know it!"  
  
"Stingmon DNA digivolved with someone else?" Cody asked. "Is that possible?"  
  
"You bet!" Davis yelled, running over. "Guys, meet Paildramon, Stingmon and  
Exveemon's DNA digivolved form!"  
  
"All right Ken!" Ryo said, grinning.   
  
Metal Devidramon moved to block the way to the portal. "It's not over yet!   
Red Eye!" Shakkoumon intercepted and absorbed the energy.  
  
"It's over now! Desparado Blasters!" Two guns attached to Paildramon's back  
switched positions so they were aimed forward, and opened up with a hail of  
fire. Scizor and Nidoking used their Hyper Beams, and Silphymon fired another  
Static Force. The combined effect was enough to knock out Metal Devidramon.  
  
==2 hours later  
  
Kyle woke up, blinking as bright light hit him. He suddenly realized that he  
was in his room. "Wha...was I dreaming?"  
  
Sitting on the edge of his bed, June leaned over, smiling. "I'm afraid you  
weren't, but everything's better now."  
  
"I can't remember much after I went to Indigo Plateau to fight Magnatar. What  
happened next?"  
  
"My brother had to go and save you. Of course, he needed a little help from  
me."  
  
"There was something else, something about a seed?"  
  
"They were trying to turn you into another digimon emperor." June answered.   
"If it wasn't for Davis, we might not have found you in time."  
  
"I guess I really owe him now." Kyle replied. Outside of Kyle's room, Davis  
leaned on the wall, listening. He had to admit, Kyle was a decent guy. Maybe  
it wasn't so bad, him dating his sister.  
  
"Of course, you'd look kind of cute in Ken's Emperor outfit." June went on.   
"Maybe we could play 'Emperor and the captured digidestined' sometime?"  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" Davis yelled, pounding on Kyle's door.  
  
==  
  
Next Episode:  
Deciding to take a break, Ryo and Charmeleon go to the Human world, and meet  
Seth and Stuart. While there, they must face an enemy long thought destroyed  
eight years ago. Will they win, and who is the mysterious new digidestined  
they meet? Next time, on Digimon: Digicross  
'Parrotmon's message.' 


	29. Digicross TV Series 28 Parrotmon's Messa

==Lansdale, PA.  
  
Parrotmon swooped over the city, wondering where he should strike tonight. For the last week, he had been committing random acts of violence on all sorts of inanimate objects; first a stand of trees, then an old shack on the edge of town, then he terrorized a few drunken motorcyclists. It was a diversion, but hardly any fun.  
  
Tonight, however, orders had been received. He had been told that there was a digidestined in this nowhere town, and that his current boss would like it very much if said digidestined met his end before he could connect with the other digidestined. No real problem; his attacks to date had been written off as either accidents, vandalism by teenage gang wannabes, and any sightings of Parrotmon were dismissed as being liquor or drug induced hallucinations.  
  
What troubled him was the almost personal interest Darkrizamon had in this particular digidestined. "You'll know him." Parrotmon had been told. "Brown hair, mid-teens, and has a purple flying pig with him. Tell him I said hello, before you evicerate him."  
  
Seth stared at the TV screen, bored. Since moving here, he hadn't really made any new friends. Worse, none of the other people he'd met were digidestined, making it all the harder to keep Wizardmon a secret.  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 28  
  
'Parrotmon's Message'  
  
Followed by the bonus feature!  
  
'The Cyndaquil used my homework for a nest!'  
  
==  
  
==Digital World  
  
The computer glowed, and Stuart and Monodramon stepped out. "Came as soon as we could." Stuart said. "What's up?"  
  
"Friend of mine called from Lansdale, and he said that a giant digimon was appearing."  
  
"Anyone we know?" Monodramon asked. "And is she cute?" Stuart sighed, shaking his head.  
  
Wizardmon frowned, deciding to bap Monodramon on the head with his staff. "It is Parrotmon, an Ultimate level digimon."  
  
"That giant bird that Tai and Kari blew up with Greymon about eight years ago?" Monodramon asked. "I thought that bird's hash was settled!"  
  
Wizardmon shook his head. "The portal to the digital world was opened by the force of Greymon's attack, and allowed Parrotmon to return to Primary Village and regenerate like any digimon. Greymon was pulled through as well, though I believe his digiegg never showed up."  
  
"It wasn't Tai's?" Seth asked.  
  
"No. I talked at length with Gennai about it just before I met you, Seth. That Greymon went through, regressed to a digiegg, and proceeded to bond with both Tai and Kari, then... vanished. No one knows where."  
  
"Well, Parrotmon's back, so I guess we go there and take care of Parrotmon ourselves?" Stuart asked.  
  
Seth nodded. "Yeah. Just a word about Kyle. He's...not a people person."  
  
==Lansdale, Midday  
  
Kyle Evanick (No, not Ellison. This is a COMPLETELY different Kyle -ed) glanced around, wondering how anything could hide a green parrot the size of a large house. "This isn't accomplishing much."  
  
"What, you wanted the climactic final battle fought at noon in the middle of town? Yeah, way to keep our cover intact. You could have at least waited for Seth to show up." Tsukaimon stuck his head out of the backpack Kyle was carrying.  
  
"I don't know why you insisted. I like him, but I can handle this myself."  
  
"'Cause word on the grapevine is that he's got a digimon partner too. And we could use all the help we can get, thank you VERY much."  
  
"You and I can handle things just fine." Kyle replied.  
  
"Like Darkrizamon?" Tsukaimon asked sharply.  
  
Kyle said nothing, remembering...  
  
==4 years ago  
  
The attack had come suddenly. Some creature calling himself Darkrizamon and a gang of other aggressive digimon had appeared out of nowhere and were tearing up a rather large section of the Eastern Seaboard.  
  
Kyle watched his partner charge into battle, digivolving as it did, feeling a strange thrill as Tsukaimon transformed. Some distance off, he could hear Michael and his partner Seadramon, as they fought Gorillamon, and another boy and his partner Centarumon beat back a pair of Lynxmon.  
  
"You can't win." Darkrizamon taunted. "I know it."  
  
"Why's that?" Kyle yelled, trying to distract attention from his partner.  
  
"Because I work for Myotismon, strongest digimon there is. And I have the power to crush you without blinking. Tell me, if I kill you, does your digimon feel it? SNIPE FANG!"  
  
"KYLE!" Without hesitation, Kyle's partner blocked the attack. He howled in pain for a few seconds, then collapsed, reverting to a digiegg.  
  
==  
  
"I don't like going back into a digiegg." Tsukaimon said quietly.  
  
"If you don't like it," Kyle replied acidly, "you're more than welcome to leave."  
  
"Terribly sorry, Kyle, but we're joined at the hip." Tsukaimon wiggled out of the backpack, and flew ahead. "This is stupid, Kyle. Parrotmon's no idiot, he's gonna stay out of sight during the day. He knows that there are other digidestined about."  
  
Kyle scowled. "Then we find him now and finish him off." He picked the sound of someone calling his name. "Hide." Tsukaimon flew to a pile of boxes in an alleyway, and hid behind them.  
  
"Well, well." a large boy about Kyle's age said, sauntering over. "I was wondering when you'd show up. You know, if your face stays like that, it'll freeze. Though in your case, that'd be an improvement."  
  
Kyle's scowl remained, but he didn't respond to the insult. Carter 'Picket' Post was the local bully, and had decided, as all his type do, to pick on the one kid that the rest of class wouldn't give a second thought to being pushed around.  
  
Tsukaimon peeked out from behind the boxes, watching. Just give me the word, Kyle, he thought to himself, visualizing Picket's face getting smashed in with a Sonic Jab.  
  
"I'm talkin' to you, freakboy. Word is you've got some weird pet hanging around you. Let me see him, and I might let you off." No response. "Come on, hand him over! I said give him to me!"  
  
"Maybe you should let him go." a new voice requested.  
  
Picket looked around dumbly (not a word, you! -ed), then spotted a small figure, wearing a large pointed cap, wearing a tattered cape, and carrying a staff. "Little late for Halloween, punk. But if you want some, then just wait right-"  
  
"Magic Game." Wizardmon said, releasing his spell. Picket blinked, then slumped to the ground. "He will wake in a few minutes, and have no memory of what happened."  
  
"Trust me, there's not much mind to work with." Kyle stopped and blinked. "How...Tsukaimon, did you...?"  
  
Tsukaimon popped out of his hiding spot. "I'm right here, Kyle."  
  
Wizardmon bowed. "I am Wizardmon, Seth's partner. I sensed trouble, so I went ahead of the group."  
  
"Group?"  
  
==  
  
"I don't like it." Kyle replied.  
  
"What's not to like?" Monodramon asked. "Between the three of us, we can settle bird-boy's hash."  
  
Seth spoke up. "Stuart and Monodramon are good; I've seen them in action."  
  
"Look," Kyle interrupted, "I appreciate the offer, but I can handle this."  
  
"No offense," Monodramon cut in, "but an Ultimate level digimon is nothing to take lightly."  
  
"That's what I've been trying to tell Heero-boy. Yui get that?" Tsukaimon glanced at Kyle.  
  
"Enough with the Gundam puns." Kyle replied, feeling a headache coming on. "Or I'll make you watch Streamline dubs."  
  
"Look, can we get back on track here?" Stuart asked.  
  
"This is no time to train." Tsukaimon answered.  
  
"Careful, you'll get him steamed." Monodramon added, getting into the mood.  
  
"Monodramon." Stuart said, glaring at his partner. He looked up, and saw Kyle leaving. "Hey, where are you going?"  
  
"To find Parrotmon. You want to go looking, be my guest. Just don't get in my way." Kyle left.  
  
"Well, he's nothing like the Kyle we know." Monodramon grumbled. "He always like this?"  
  
"You get used to it. Kinda like rap music, I suppose." Tsukaimon nodded. "Look, I'll work on him a bit, alright? He is pretty decent, under all the angst." Tsukaimon flew after Kyle.  
  
"Did I miss something?" Stuart asked.  
  
Seth sighed. "Well...Kyle lost Tsukaimon when Myotismon invaded. He never really got over it; at least, that's what I think this is about."  
  
==  
  
The three digidestined searched as best they could, but turned up nothing. Eventually, Stuart and Seth had to return home before anyone got suspicious, though Stuart promised to return if help was needed; his parents were out for a few days on a business trip/anniversary. Seth also promised to come if called, confident he could get out of the house if needed.  
  
In the park, a small black sphere fell out of a tree, landing softly on the grass. There was a small chime, and the ball opened, and Parrotmon appeared out of the ball, returning to his normal size. A handy item that Darkrizamon had given him. With it, he could hide during the day almost anywhere, and the timer could be set so it would automatically open when Parrotmon wanted to appear. Since getting it, he had used the ball to hide and rest during the day, then appearing, terrorize, and then land and hide wherever he wanted. Crouching so as to stay below the treeline in the park, Parrotmon considered his next move. As he did, he heard voices.  
  
"Look, I'm not asking you to marry them, just work with them!" Tsukaimon said to Kyle.  
  
"And I said I'll think about it! Jeez, stop riding me already!"  
  
"That's not riding!" Tsukaimon answered. "This is!" with that, he perched on Kyle's head and covered the boy's eyes with his wings.  
  
Kyle was about to tell Tsukaimon what to do with his definition of riding when a fierce raptor's cry split the night. "Parrotmon!" Indeed, the giant green bird flew up, then darted at Kyle and Tsukaimon.  
  
"Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!" Unlike Seth's Wizardmon, this Wizardmon had a faint purple tinge to his hat and cloak, and his staff was tipped by a pair of small crossed lighting bolts. "Thunder Cloud!"  
  
==  
  
Wizardmon woke up. "Seth! We have to go!"  
  
Seth sat up, having just fallen asleep. "It's midnight, Wizardmon. What's the problem?"  
  
"Parrotmon. I'll get Monodramon." Wizardmon's voice betrayed his sense of urgency.  
  
"Alright, alright. Just let me put some clothes on..."  
  
==  
  
Wizardmon was hurled back by a blast of air from Parrotmon's wings. He tumbled, rolled, and got back to his feet, brandishing his staff. "He's too strong for me!"  
  
Kyle grimaced. "We can take him! I'll lure him into those trees!" Kyle immediately began waving his arms at Parrotmon, daring the digimon to attack. It took the bait, and chased the boy over to the thick growth of trees, and lost sight of Kyle.  
  
Wizardmon shook his head, still amazed by Kyle's apparent recklessness. He did take the opening and fired a few more bolts of electricity at Parrotmon, enraging the giant bird further. In a rage, Parrotmon swung a clawed hand, and ripped a tree apart. Kyle had to run to avoid the wreckage. A blast of energy threw Kyle to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.  
  
A bolt of energy shot past Parrotmon. "Hey, you're figting me!" Wizardmon taunted, pointing his staff at Parrotmon. "No, me!" another image said. "Don't forget me!" a third image said.  
  
Magic Game, Kyle realized, remembering his partner using the same trick during Myotismon's invasion. Now if I can just find some weakness in this overgrown budgie...  
  
A wild swing by Parrotmon, by sheer chance, caught Wizardmon, tossing him aside and dispelling the illusion. Cursing, Wizardmon tried to stand, but was still groggy from Parrotmon's attack. Out of the corner of his eye, Parrotmon saw another Wizardmon, but dismissed it as an illusion.  
  
"Thunder Cloud!" Seth's Wizardmon attacked, the bolt slamming into Parrotmon's wing.  
  
"Strike Claw!" Strikedramon tackled Parrotmon, slamming a clawed fist into the parrot's head. "You woke me up from a perfectly good dream!"  
  
Seth and Stuart ran over to Kyle, who was already starting to get up. "It's alright, I can take him."  
  
"Yeah, you had him right where you wanted him." Stuart replied, a bit put off.  
  
"Guys, a little later, maybe?" Seth asked. "Wizardmon!"  
  
Both Wizardmons looked at each other, nodded, and crossed their staves. "Thunder Squall!" they both shouted, summoning a large electrical bolt and firing it at Parrotmon. This attack did manage to damage Parrotmon, one wing now paralyzed from the electric shock. Strikedramon powered up his strongest attack and landed another blow, seriously injuring Parrotmon. The bird fell over, gasping.  
  
Kyle noticed something lying in the ground by Parrotmon's arm. Curious, he went over and picked it up. "What's this thing?" he asked Parrotmon. Both Wizardmons watched Parrotmon, ready to attack if necessary. "Why are you here?"  
  
Parrotmon grimaced as a wave of pain ripped through him. "Darkrizamon...sends his regards." he muttered. Parrotmon then threw himself at Kyle, trying to take the boy with him in a final attack. He got about a foot before being blown back by the other digimons' attacks. With a final gasp, Parrotmon disintegrated.  
  
==Next Day  
  
"A what?" Kyle asked.  
  
"A pokeball." Seth replied. "I've seen a few from Kyle's home world. They're used to capture and hold pokemon. I heard they can be modified to hold digimon, but I've never seen it done. It looks like there's some sort of timer built into this thing."  
  
Tsukaimon stared at the small black sphere. "Handy. Parrotmon could attack, hide, and reappear whenever he wanted. I wonder if there are any more out there?"  
  
"Thanks for the image." Monodramon replied, suppressing a shudder.  
  
"So, there's another Kyle on the team? Anything like Mr. Charisma here?" Tsukaimon asked.  
  
"I'm sure his partner isn't half as annoying as you are." Kyle muttered.  
  
"Kyle Ellison?" Seth asked. "He's pretty normal. For a guy from another dimension, anyway."  
  
"Bet he has a girlfriend." Tsukaimon wisecracked.  
  
"Well..." Monodramon answered innocently.  
  
"Ha, I knew it! See, there's hope for you yet!" Tsukaimon teased. "If someone else named Kyle can nab a girl..." Kyle glared at his partner, and Tsukaimon stopped, still smiling sweetly.  
  
"Look." Stuart interrupted. "Shouldn't we try to find out what's going on with these pokeballs showing up here?"  
  
"Yeah." Kyle said, glad for the diversion. "I'll go to this 'pokeworld' and ask around."  
  
Stuart glanced at Kyle and Tsukaimon. "Hey, we'll go too."  
  
"I'll go alone." Kyle replied.  
  
"Just wander around an alien world?" Tsukaimon asked. "Are you nuts?"  
  
Kyle shrugged. "I'll manage."  
  
"Fine, I'm going with you." Tsukaimon replied stubbornly.  
  
"Really?" Kyle looked at the pokeball in his left hand, then at Tsukaimon. "Well, I shouldn't call too much attention to myself. Say, Seth, how does this thing work?" He grinned evilly.  
  
"Kyle? KYLE, THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Tsukaimon shouted, trying to get away. Kyle ran after his partner, beginnings of an evil cackle forming.  
  
==  
  
Digicross bonus feature!  
  
'The Cyndaquil used my homework for a nest!'  
  
==  
  
Renamon faced Espeon, each waiting for the other to attack. On the sidelines, Charmeleon watched, still recovering from his latest battle. Also there were Crystal, Caryl, Ryo, and TK.  
  
"They've been going at it for almost an hour now!" Caryl complained.  
  
Ryo shrugged. "Well, they're both matched in speed and agility; neither one can get a good shot off. And you said you wouldn't have Renamon digivolve, so stop complaining."  
  
"Well, Espeon is very experienced." Crystal, also standing with them, added. "Although I've never had a battle go on this long. Usually, I'd have switched pokemon by this point."  
  
Caryl looked at Crystal. "Really?"  
  
Crystal nodded. "Choosing the right pokemon for a battle is as important as the actual fight itself. Against Renamon, I'd rather have started with Kitty, rather than Kurt."  
  
"Kitty?"  
  
"My Misdreavus." Crystal released the ghost pokemon. Caryl looked at the ghost, a little awed.   
  
"That must be so neat, having all those pokemon as your friends."  
  
Ryo grinned. "Yeah, but it's a handful at times. In a way, all of the Earth digidestiend have it easy; you only have to look after one monster. Imagine having to look after a whole horde, each with the appetite of an In Training digimon. I'm just glad I never caught a Snorlax. I'd be broke."  
  
"Hey, we're not all food pits!" Charmeleon complained.  
  
TK smirked. "And who challenged Veemon to that eating contest?"  
  
"Details." Charmeleon replied.  
  
"If you're quite done..." Renamon asked.   
  
"You are! Kurt, Psywave!" At Crystal's command, Kurt fired a blast of psychic energy, striking Renamon and stunning her. "Now, Swift attack!"  
  
"Renamon, Diamond Storm!" Caryl called. The two monsters released their attacks, each cancelling the other out.  
  
During the commotion, a small pokemon stuck its nose out of the grass. A young Cyndaquil, attracted by the noise, saw Caryl's backpack lying on the ground. Curious, and smelling something inside it (mom's fudge brownie), he wandered inside, scarfed the treat, and promptly fell asleep.  
  
Failing to notice this, Caryl tried to keep track of the attacking pokemon, shouting directions to Renamon. There was a bright flash, and, when Caryl's eyes cleared, she saw Renamon lying down on the ground, Espeon seated on the digimon's chest.  
  
"Alright Crystal!" TK whispered a bit too loudly, blushing as Ryo glanced in his direction, grinning.  
  
"Renamon?" Caryl asked, a bit worried.  
  
"I am fine. Kurt is a very skilled fighter." Still seated, Kurt gave a small, self satisfied sniff. "Although I would appreciate it if he would get off of me." Kurt bounded off, and ran over to Crystal.  
  
"Just like a cat." Caryl commented.  
  
"And as self-centered." Crystal replied. "Well, I have to go now. TK's taking me to lunch."  
  
TK blinked. "I am?"  
  
"You bet!" Crystal replied, hooking her arm around TK's, and dragging him along.  
  
"Caryl, we should get going." Renamon said, getting up. "Your parents will be home soon." Caryl sighed. "You do have school tomorrow." Renamon reminded her.  
  
"All right." Caryl huffed. "Thanks for the sparring practice, Ryo. I really appreciate it."  
  
"No problem." Ryo replied. "Renamon's a really good fighter. Pokemon battles don't usually go on this long, and psychic pokemon are really tough to defeat. Stop by next time, and I'll give you some tips, alright?"  
  
"Sure! Okay, Renamon, let's go...Urff!"  
  
"What's wrong?" Renamon asked.  
  
"It's nothing. I guess I'm just a bit worn out, that's all." Caryl replied, hefting her backpack over her shoulder. "It feels like someone put a boulder in this thing."  
  
"That's worn out?" Charmeleon asked. "I'd hate to see her at full power."  
  
Renamon arched an eyebrow. "It is not a pleasant sight."  
  
"Rena-MON!"  
  
==Next day  
  
Caryl's backpack lay in a corner of her room, discarded and forgotten. She had only gotten home a few seconds ahead of her parents, and didn't have time to do anything more than put the pack in the corner and forget about it. Renamon had stayed in the Digital World, preferring to rest there for a while.  
  
The next day, after the house was emptied of people, the computer glowed, and Renamon came through. Although she would never admit it, she was curious about the world the humans lived in, and wanted to go have a look around. She remembered Caryl mentioning that the house would be empty today, even her mother having to go out and take Caryl's little sister with her.  
  
"Still a mess." Renamon said, stepping around a small pile of books. A noise caught her attention.  
  
She wandered down to the kitchen, and saw that the door was open, and something was making a lot of noise inside. At first, she thought that someone was still home, then realized that whatever was in the fridge was too small to be a human. "A stray cat?" Renamon wondered, wandering over, alert.  
  
Pulling the door wide open, she saw a small blue and white creature with a round body and a long nose. "Cynda?" the creature asked.  
  
A pokemon, Renamon guessed. Did Caryl bring it home with her? "Okay, time to go back home." Renamon reached in, intending to pick up the creature and take it through the digital portal in Caryl's room. Startled, Cyndaquil darted around Renaon's hand, and ran out of the fridge, up on the counter, and through an open window. Cursing, Renamon ran to the window, just in time to see Cyndaquil scramble over the fence. "Why me?" she groaned.  
  
==  
  
Cyndaquil wandered around the town for about half an hour. It was sheer luck that he was not noticed. Finally, he detected a familiar scent. He tracked it to a large white building, and went inside.  
  
Inside, he heard voices coming from all around him. Confused, the pokemon stopped in the mddle of the hall, looking around. Too many noises, too many scents.  
  
One of the custodians, checking the halls for litter, came out of a vackroom, and spotted Cyndaquil just sitting there. "Gyaah! That's a HUGE mouse!" he yelped, grabbing a broom and chasing the pokemon.  
  
Cyndaquil looked behind him, saw the janitor charging him, panicked, and ran for it. Cyndaquil darted left, ran up a flight of stairs, darted through a classroom, terrifying the entire class, and ran out another door, back into the hallway.  
  
The Janitor was waiting for him. "Got you now! EAT BROOM, RODENT!"  
  
"QUIL!" Cyndaquil's back ignited, and the pokemon shot a stream of flame at the broom, incinerating it.  
  
"GAHH! IT'S A FIREBREATHING DEMON RAT FROM THE NETHER REALMS!" the janitor shouted. He turned, ran out the door, jumped in his car and, still trying to run, drove off, nearly flattening a substitute teacher as he hopped off a bus.  
  
"Quil?"  
  
==  
  
Caryl looked up, blinking the sleep from her eyes as the shouting echoed through the school. "Wait here, students." the teacher said, running out of the class to see what was going on.  
  
"I'm glad that's over." Caryl said. "Why does history have to be so boring?"  
  
One of the other students shrugged. "Actually, it's quite interesting. It's the teacher that's sucking the fun out of it. Only he could suck the fun out of the middle ages."  
  
"It's not his fault." A third student chimed in. "He was trained in America. My dad said that all American highschool teachers are trained to be dry and boring. They're not allowed to be interesting until they start teaching in colleges and universities."  
  
"Mr. Crossman's nice!" Caryl replied. "He makes math classes fun!"  
  
"Yeah, but you're the oddball that likes math, remember?"  
  
"You're just jealous that I beat you on last week's pop quiz! One sec, I'm going to open a window." Caryl got up, walked over to one of the old winows in the room, and lifted the windowframe up, propping it open with a discarded chalkboard eraser.  
  
"Caryl!" Renamon hissed, clinging to the wall just under the window.  
  
"GLACK!" Caryl half-screamed, then whirled around. "Oh, it's just the fresh air! You know how much I like fresh air! Hahahaha..." Caryl looked back out the window. "Renamon, what are you doing here?" she whispered.  
  
"A pokemon followed you back here, and it's loose in the school! I have to go in and get it!"  
  
"In HERE?" Caryl tried not to groan. "Uh..on the roof, there's a door!" Renamon nodded, and sped up the wall, ducking over the side of the roof. "I hope no one spots her..."  
  
The rest of the students stared at Caryl. "Must be another sugar rush. I swear, that kid's gonna blow up at 13."  
  
"Can it, Kazu..." Caryl shot back.  
  
==  
  
Principal Greene leaned back in his chair, grumbling. "Fire-breathing rats. That man must have been sniffing the window cleaner again. I should talk with the district heads and have him replaced. Now where were those forms..."  
  
Greene opened a drawer, and reached in, not really paying attention. However, it just happened to be the drawer that Cyndaquil had decided to rest in. And was now having his nose tickled by Greene's fumbling hands.  
  
"Did I leave my lunch in here again? I...hey, it's getting warm..." Finally finding something, Greene's hand clamped around it.  
  
Pity it was Cyndaquil's rather long nose...  
  
"QUIL!" the pokemon yelled, the gout of flame from his back igniting the desk. Panicking, the principal yanked his hand out, dragging Cyndaquil out with it, back still aflame. "Cynda?"  
  
"Guh...." Principal and pokemon stared at each other for a full minute. Then, Greene's nerve broke. "GAHHH! THERE'S A FIREBREATHING RODENT FROM THE PIT AFTER MY SOUL!" He ran out of the room screaming.  
  
"Quil?" The pokemon watched the human run away, confused.  
  
"Got you!" Renamon said, grabbing Cyndaquil. "How did you get here?"  
  
"Cynda!" the pokemon yelped, startled. He twisted around, ready to attack, then looked up at Renamon. "Quil!" he yeleld happily, clamping onto Renamon's arm.  
  
==That evening, Digital World.  
  
"I am sorry." Renamon repeated. "I should have captured him more quickly." she glanced at Cyndaquil, now clamped firmly onto Renamon's leg. "Although I wish I knew what this was about. Is it some kind of attack?"  
  
Ryo shook his head. "I don't think so. I've never heard of a Cyndaquil using an attack like this. I hope we can get him off; he should be returned to his native world as soon as possible."  
  
"Well, it wasn't a total loss." Caryl chimed in. "Thanks to Cyndaquil giving the janitor and the principal heart attacks, the school's closed for the rest of the week while they fumigate the entire place! I wish he didn't have to go back though."  
  
"Caryl..." Ryo started.  
  
"Aww! He's so adorable, Ryo! Just for a few days, please?"  
  
Charmeleon wandered over to Cyndaquil. "Hey, you wanna come back to the pokemon world?" Cyndaquil started speaking.  
  
Ignoring this, Renamon spoke up. "Caryl, Cyndaquil is a pokemon. He needs to be with other pokemon like him. Besides, there's no way to treat pokemon on your world, and there's no telling what kind of damage a fire type could do."  
  
Charmeleon, who had been listening to Cyndaquil, nodded. "Looks like this one was orphaned; h parents weren't there when he hatched, and he's been looking for them. He must have seen our battle yesterday. I guess he stowed away in your backpack, Caryl. And-" he stopped as Cyndaquil went on. "Whu...oh, that's TOO RICH!" he shouted, falling over backwards.  
  
"What?" Caryl and Ryo asked. Charmeleon couldn't answer, as he was laughing too hard.  
  
"Charmeleon," Renamon asked, voice firm, "what. Is. So. Funny?" Still no answer. "Charmeleon, we have to get him back home."  
  
"I think he is home...Mom! Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!"  
  
"M-Mom?"  
  
"Oh!" Ryo said brightly. "I've heard that some pokemon will imprint on different pokemon if they're seperated from their biological parents early on. Renamon must have been the first non-human he's seen since he got seperated that had even a faint resemblance to a fire-type pokemon."  
  
"But I'm not a pokemon!" Renamon protested.  
  
"Tell that to him!" Caryl answered, grinning wickedly. "I hope you know that taking care of a baby is a big responsibility, Renamon."  
  
"Caryl, that's not funny!"  
  
"CyndaQUIL!" The pokemon chimed in, happy to be reunited with his mother.  
  
Next Episode  
  
Investigating the pokeball he found in Lansdale, Kyle Evanick, Seth, and Stuart travel to Azalea Town, where Kurt, pokeball designer, lives. However, once there, they are faced with Darkrizamon, the digimon that Kyle and Tsukaimon fought four years ago. Can Darkrizamon be defeated, and why is a Kunemon following another pokemon trainer around? Next time on Digimon: Digicross -   
  
'Kunemon's Home-run Evolution!' 


	30. Digicross TV Series 2 Kunemon's Home run...

Casey looked at the small creature following her. "Could you please tell me  
  
why you're following me?" She was a bit nervous. It was getting late in the  
  
day, and she was hoping to make it to the next pokemon center where she could  
  
stay the night and give her pokemon a much needed rest. The next thing she  
  
knew, a small bug that vaguely resembled a Weedle was following her, going on  
  
about being partners and something about a great darkness threatening the world.  
  
Kunemon looked up. "Because we're partners, that's why!" she replied brightly.  
  
Bayleef, walking beside Casey, didn't take to well to that. "BayBAYleef!" he  
  
snapped, glaring at Kunemon.  
  
"Same to you, you walking salad bar!" Kunemon replied.  
  
"Knock it off, both of you!" Casey yelled. "Bayleef, if he wants to follow  
  
us, that's fine. And I don't know why a talking Weedle would want to be a  
  
partner." A nasty thought crossed her mind. "This isn't one of those magical  
  
girl things, is it? 'Cause there's no way I'm doing one of those perverted  
  
transformation scenes."  
  
"For the last time," Kunemon answered, exasperated, "I'm NOT a Weedle, I'm  
  
Kunemon, a digimon! And what's a magical girl, anyway?"  
  
"Look, if you look like a pokemon, and act like one, you must be a pokemon!"  
  
Casey reasoned (Don't ask, alright? -ed). "Pokeball, GO!" Casey threw a  
  
pokeball at Kunemon, expecting the creature to be captured.  
  
Kunemon was drawn into the pokeball, but was released again a second later.   
  
"Huh?" Casey asked, confused.  
  
"What was THAT for?" Kunemon demanded. Bayleef got between Casey and Kunemon,  
  
ready to attack. "Do all humans treat their partners this way?"  
  
"Huh." Casey said. "Must be broken. Well, we're near Azalea Town, so I can  
  
have it checked there." She reached down top pick up the ball. As she touched  
  
it, it rocked back and forth, crackled, and exploded in a small grey puff of  
  
smoke. Reflexively, she pulled her hand back, but watched the smoke dissipate.  
  
When it cleared, there was a small silvery square lying on the ground.  
  
"See?" Kunemon exclaimed. "We ARE partners! So THERE!" she said to Bayleef.   
  
Bayleef responded with a Razor Leaf while Casey wasn't looking. Kunemon was  
  
about to respond with her own attack when the group was knocked over by a  
  
speeding white pokemon. "What was that?" Kunemon asked.  
  
"I didn't get a good look!" Casey said, getting up and adjusting her baseball  
  
cap. "But I know that was a pokemon, and I'm going to catch it!"  
  
"OUT OF OUR WAY!" two humans on a hovercraft shouted, knocking the group over  
  
again. "Absol is OURS!"  
  
Casey recognized the outfits. "Team Rocket!" she shouted. "Come on, we can't  
  
let them get away!"  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 29  
  
-'Kunemon's Home-Run Evolution!'  
  
==  
  
==Lansdale, PA, early evening  
  
Ryo and Kyle Evanick sat at a small coffee hut at the edge of town. "I can  
  
check this pokeball out for you." Ryo offered. He held a small black sphere  
  
that Kyle had recovered a few days ago from Parrotmon. It was an unusual  
  
pokeball, fitted with a timer that allowed the user to set the exact time the  
  
ball would release its monster. Moreover, the ball had been modified to handle  
  
Digimon instead of pokemon.  
  
"Parrotmon said that Darkrizamon had sent him here. That makes it personal."  
  
Kyle replied. Beside him, Tsukaimon, sipping on a short latte, nodded. "How  
  
can you drink that?"  
  
"Caffeine." Tsukaimon replied, deadpan. "It's what makes me so alive and  
  
energetic. I'm surprised there isn't a Starbucks in the digital world already."  
  
"Gods willing, there'll never be one, either." Kyle replied. "So this Kurt  
  
guy is the expert on pokeballs?"  
  
Ryo nodded. "Yeah, he designs pokeballs for a living. If anyone can figure  
  
out who modified this design. it'd be him. I can take the ball to him, if you  
  
want. I just have to make a quick detour home first."  
  
Kyle shook his head. "Nahh, I'll go myself. I've heard enough about this  
  
Pokemon World from everyone else, I might as well see how it is myself."  
  
"What about your folks? And school?"  
  
Ryo and Tsukaimon shared a glance. "They won't miss me for a few days. Trust  
  
me." Kyle replied, a bit darkly.  
  
"Well, alright. I'll give Stuart and Seth a call. Maybe they'd like to tag  
  
along too."  
  
Kyle shrugged. "Knock yourself out. Though this shouldn't take that long. I  
  
mean, what could possibly happen?"  
  
"Fight the forces of evil?" Tsukaimon piped up. "Meet the love of your life?"  
  
Kyle snorted. He got up and left the table, and entered the mall the coffee  
  
hut was attached to. It was late, there were not too many people left in the  
  
mall, and the computer store was still open, the latest IBM-clone on display,  
  
monitor brightly blazing. Tsukaimon darted out and perched on Kyle's shoulder.  
  
"Would it kill you to at least TALK to a girl?"  
  
"Well, better safe than sorry, right?" Kyle replied. "Besides, you're a  
  
digimon, not a dating computer."  
  
"Hah!" Tsukaimon responded. "All it takes is taste, which I have plenty of."  
  
"Says the purple football that sucked back a cup of low-grade battery acid."  
  
"Just open the portal."  
  
"Right, right." Kyle took out his digivice, and, checking that there was no  
  
one watching, held it to the computer monitor by the store entrance. "Put your  
  
head inside a microwave and give yourself a tan..." he muttered, quoting a song  
  
he had heard once.  
  
Across the hall, Ryo watched the two leave. "Takes all kinds, I guess." he  
  
muttered. "Well, I guess I'd better go say hi to mom and wish her and dad a  
  
happy anniversary."  
  
==Near Azalea town  
  
The computer glowed, and Kyle and Tsukaimon emerged. "Oh, hello!" Nurse Joy  
  
said, greeting them. "My sister's second cousin twice removed in Viridian City  
  
told me about you. Are you here to visit someone?"  
  
"Your...?" Kyle stammered. He got his wits back, then asked "Is this Azalea  
  
Town?"  
  
"I'm sorry. Azalea Town is about a 20 minute hike down the road. My name's  
  
Nurse Joy, and this is a pokemon center. Here, we can give you a place to rest  
  
and a chance to heal your digimon if it's been wounded."  
  
"Looks like we got the co-ordinates wrong." Kyle muttered.  
  
"I don't know, I think this is my kind of place!" Tsukaimon said, flying over  
  
to the nurse. "I'll have my bath now, thanks!" Kyle sighed, shaking his  
  
head.   
  
Nurse Joy grabbed Tsukaimon between the ears, and handed the digimon over to a  
  
Chansey. "Chansey's in charge of that."  
  
"Don't worry." Kyle sighed again. "He just looks like a pig. I'm sure  
  
there's a halfway decent digimon somewhere in there. Though God alone knows  
  
how often I've tried to find it."  
  
"After Brock, this is nothing." Joy replied. She looked out the front door,  
  
startled by several loud noises. "Team Rocket!" she gasped, recognizing  
  
several figures.  
  
"Who?" Kyle asked.  
  
"They're a gang of crooks that work on this world, according to what  
  
Monodramon and Wizardmon told me." Tsukaimon answered. "It looks like they're  
  
attacking that...white dog?"  
  
"They were." Kyle replied, clutching his digivice. "Let's break them up."  
  
"You should wait for the police." Nurse Joy said, warningly. "Team Rocket is  
  
very dangerous."  
  
Kyle shrugged. "We'll be fine. Tsukaimon?"  
  
"Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!"  
  
==  
  
"That's far enough!" Casey called to the two thugs. "You better leave that  
  
pokemon alone or I'll have to send you to the bleachers!"  
  
One of the thugs (generic TR thug. Kinda like security guards on Star Trek. -  
  
ed) smirked. "Spare me the lecture, runt. This Absol's ours. Not to mention  
  
the Pichu that goes with it. Go, Skarmory!"  
  
"Steelix, get in there!" the other thug called. The two pokemon appeared in  
  
front of Casey, challenging her to move ahead. "Think your little Bayleef can  
  
stop our Steel Type pokemon?"  
  
"How about challenging someone in a fair fight?" another voice asked,  
  
unafraid. Casey saw a boy, about 14 or 15, stepping out of the pokemon center.  
  
Beside him was a creature, a pokemon, Casey assumed, holding what looked like a  
  
staff.  
  
"Hey, I can take these two on!" she called. "You and your overdressed Marowak  
  
can just stay out of it!"  
  
"I think I've just been insulted." Wizardmon stage-whispered to Kyle.  
  
"I'll have to go with the overdressed part." Kyle replied. At Wizardmon's  
  
glare, Kyle smirked. "Well, that cape is a bit over the top."  
  
"I am ever underappreciated." Wizardmon sighed. "Magic Game!" Skarmory's  
  
head was engulfed in a bluish haze, and the bird quickly collapsed,  
  
unconscious. "So, who's next?"  
  
"Steelix, crush those two!" Steelix' head darted forward, but Kyle and  
  
Wizardmon dodged the attack, Kyle running at the two criminals, Wizardmon  
  
launching a wave of electricity at Steelix. Steelix ignored the attack,  
  
picking the human as the easier target. "No, wait!" the thug yelled as Steelix  
  
charged at Kyle, and was then unable to stop itself as Kyle quickly jumped to  
  
one side, and the pokemon ploughed right into the vehicle the two Rocket thugs  
  
had shown up in. Steelix and the humans were both knocked out.  
  
"Not bad." Wizardmon said. "But a bit sloppy. I could have cut it much  
  
closer, personally. Try tucking more when you roll."  
  
Kyle was about to suggest where Wizardmon could tuck his staff when Casey  
  
stormed over. "Hey! I could have handled those two creeps! You didn't have  
  
to go getting involved!"  
  
"Look," Kyle replied, a bit annoyed, "Wizardmon's more powerful than your  
  
pokemon. Grass type, right?"  
  
"Um...yeah...?" Casey replied, a bit taken aback.  
  
"Well, look, even I know that a grass attack isn't going to do much against  
  
something made of metal, right?"  
  
"We do appreciate the effort though." Wizardmon added, seeing Casey's face  
  
turn a bit red. "*right*, Kyle?" Kyle blinked, about to ask what Wizardmon  
  
meant by that, when he felt something brush against his leg. It was the large  
  
white creature he had seen earlier escaping from the two crooks. On its back  
  
was a small yellow and black creature, smiling and waving to Kyle and Wizardmon.  
  
"A Pichu and an Absol." Nurse Joy said, recognizing the two pokemon. "That's  
  
an odd combination." She smiled a bit, glancing at Kyle. "I think its trying  
  
to thank you for helping them against Team Rocket."  
  
"A Pichu?" Casey asked. "I always wanted one! I wanna catch it!" Absol  
  
heard this, nodded to Kyle, and took off before Casey could get a pokeball out.  
  
"Looks like Absol had other ideas." Kyle remarked.   
  
"Strange place." Kunemon said.  
  
Wizardmon glowed and reverted to Tsukaimon. "Hey there, I didn't see you  
  
before!"  
  
"Hello, I'm Kunemon. I'm Casey's partner. I assume you're his partner?"  
  
Kunemon asked, indicating Kyle.  
  
"Yeah, I'm stuck with Captain Deathwish here." Tsukaimon replied  
  
melodramatically. He then yawned. "Hey, Kyle, can we rest here tonight?"  
  
"No way! I was going to rest here tonight!" Casey protested.  
  
"The pokemon center is open to all travelers." Nurse joy pointed out. "If  
  
Kyle wants to stay here, he's more than welcome to."  
  
==About 1 in the morning.  
  
Kyle was always a bit of a light sleeper; the slightest noise would tend to  
  
wake him up. That was why he was awake right now; there was something coming  
  
from the adjacent room keeping him awake. He clambered out of bed, shook his  
  
head, and wandered over.  
  
The pokemon center was set up a bit like how Kyle thought the YMCA was set up;  
  
central room for receiving people and pokemon, eating area, and several rooms  
  
with beds in it. Dormitory style, he'd heard it called once. He found the  
  
door unlocked, still amazed at the concept. Back home, places like this  
  
typically had locks on every door, inside and out.  
  
"Hey, you mind keeping it down?" he asked.  
  
Startled, Casey spun around, clutching a small radio playing a baseball game.   
  
Figures, Kyle thought to himself. "I'm trying to get some sleep in the next  
  
room."  
  
"GET LOST, PERVERT!" Casey yelled, throwing a pillow at him.  
  
==Half an hour later.  
  
"I was NOT peeping!" Kyle said, getting a bit angry. "I was trying to sleep,  
  
but that stupid radio was keeping me up. All I did was go over and ask her to  
  
turn it down." Kyle glared at Casey for a second, then looked away. "Like I'd  
  
even want to look at an uncute tomboy like her." he muttered.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Casey snarled.  
  
They're worse than Ash and Misty, Nurse Joy said to herself. "Casey, calm  
  
down. Kyle wasn't doing anything wrong, it was just a mistake. Why don't we  
  
all go back to sleep and try to resolve this in the morning?"  
  
Casey stormed back to her room, fuming. It hadn't helped that Nurse Joy had  
  
confiscated the radio.  
  
==Next Day.  
  
"You called her a WHAT?" Tsukaimon asked.  
  
"Just leave it alone, alright?" Kyle replied. "You know I'm a light sleeper."  
  
"This from a guy who stayed up until 3 watching Dragon Ball movies."  
  
"You know darn well it was Gundam 0083." Kyle replied. "Big difference."  
  
Tsukaimon looked off towards the mountains. "I wonder how those two are  
  
doing?" he wondered. "Absol and Pichu; those two pokemon I saved yesterday."  
  
"Okay, I...hey, what's this 'I' stuff?" Kyle demanded. "You didn't have a  
  
giant iron snake chasing you down!"  
  
"I had 'em right where I wanted them." Tsukaimon replied dryly. Kyle rolled  
  
his eyes, shook his head, and kept walking.  
  
They heard shouts ahead of them. Curious, the two ran over to where the  
  
noises they heard were coming from. They soon caught sight of Casey and  
  
another boy, calling commands to their pokemon.  
  
"So, this is a pokemon battle." Kyle whispered, watching. "Okay, that's  
  
Casey's Bayleef, but what's that other thing?" he indicated what looked like a  
  
large mouse with black stripes, red cheeks, and what looked like a lightning  
  
bolt on its tail.  
  
"It's a Raichu." Kunemon said, wandering over. "Casey spent all morning  
  
explaining the whole pokemon thing to me. That kid just walked in out of  
  
nowhere and challenged Casey to a match. I volunteered, but Casey wouldn't let  
  
me fight. Now that I see it, I'm glad she didn't."  
  
"Can't you digivolve?" Tsukaimon asked.  
  
"She probably hasn't clued in yet." Kyle said, watching the battle. "I don't  
  
think Bayleef was too thrilled with the whole idea, from what I saw last night."  
  
"That pokemon is very protective of Casey." Kunemon agreed. The three watched  
  
the battle, Kyle having a sudden urge to do his Tom Servo impression as he did.  
  
"Raichu, use Bide!" the other trainer called, just before Casey's Bayleef  
  
connected with a Vine whip.  
  
"Buy Bide, and Bide Bonds." Tsukaimon whispered to Kyle. The two started  
  
sniggering, while Kunemon tried to figure out what was so funny.  
  
Casey, who hadn't noticed Kyle and Tsukaimon show up, thought for a second.   
  
If I attack again, Raichu's bide will only get stronger. And Bayleef doesn't  
  
know Sleep powder yet..."Bayleef, use your Reflect and get ready for Raichu's  
  
attack!"  
  
"Reflect?" Kyle asked Kunemon. "He's not even shiny."  
  
"It's a sort of defensive move. It reduces the damage a pokemon takes by  
  
about half."  
  
"Man," Tsukaimon muttered, "PETA would just *love* this place."  
  
"Don't look at me," Kunemon replied, "I just live here now." They watched at  
  
Raichu released the stored energy, which splashed against the Reflect barrier  
  
Bayleef had put up.   
  
"Alright! Hit it out of the park with another Vine Whip!" Casey yelled.   
  
Eagerly, Bayleef used the attack Casey called for, and caught Raichu across the  
  
back. The vine wrapped around, and Bayleef yanked hard, spinning Raichu around  
  
and stunning it. "Body Slam!" Casey called. Bayleef slammed into Raichu,  
  
sending it flying into Raichu's trainer, knocking both over.  
  
"I think that's a win." Kunemon said, watching as Casey ran over to check on  
  
the other trainer.  
  
"You think?" Kyle and Tsukaimon chorused.  
  
Casey finished helping the other trainer and his Raichu up, made the standard  
  
congratulation and commiseration speech ('you were a really tough opponent',  
  
'Toughest battle yet', that sort of thing. Normal post- battle speech. -ed),  
  
and turned to leave. She spotted Kyle and Tsukaimon with Kunemon, and  
  
immediately marched over. "You'd better not have been doing something to my  
  
Weedle!" she said fiercely.  
  
"I am NOT a Weedle!" Kunemon shouted back.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kyle replied. "Look, I was just on my way to  
  
Azalea Town, and I saw you and whatshisface fighting it out. I am so sorry for  
  
my curiosity!"  
  
"Oh," Kunemon piped up, "you're headed there too? What a coincidence."  
  
"That's enough out of you!" Casey said, picking up Kunemon. "Just stay out of  
  
my way." Casey stormed off.  
  
"Allow me to applaud you on your flirting technique." Tsukaimon said  
  
innocently. Kyle scowled at his partner, and moved on.  
  
==  
  
Kyle scowled again, this time at the sign on the front of Kurt's house. It  
  
told him, in somewhat florid language, that the whole place was closed and that  
  
anyone intruding would be either prosecuted or fed to the pack of Houndooms.   
  
"'He's open all the time'." Kyle huffed, mimicking Ryo's voice. "'Just knock  
  
on the door'. Well, this was a waste of time."  
  
"Eh, beats math class." Tsukaimon shrugged. "Well, we might as well head back  
  
to the pokemon center. We can always come back later."  
  
"Yeah, but it seems like a waste. We didn't accomplish anything."  
  
"I don't know." Tsukaimon replied. "Casey was cute."  
  
"I'll throw rice at your wedding to her, then." Kyle replied sourly. He  
  
caught sight of a little girl sitting on the curb, sniffling. Beside her were  
  
several creatures that looked like pink and white...bears? Curious, he walked  
  
over. "Are you alright, kid?" he asked.  
  
"My grandpa threw me out this morning." she replied.  
  
Kyle's face darkened. Tsukaimon noticed that his hands were clenched into  
  
fists, and that his knuckles were already white. "Did he now?" he asked slowly.  
  
"What's your name?" Tsukaimon asked suddenly. The girl looked up, and her  
  
eyes widened at the sight of Tsukaimon. "It's OK. I'm Tsukaimon, a friend."  
  
"M-my name's Maisy, and my grandfather's name is Kurt. He spends a lot of  
  
time making pokeballs for the local trainers. He's usually a bit gruff, but  
  
he's really a nice man. Well, he was..." Maisy trailed off, and started  
  
crying again.  
  
"Why did you-?" Kyle asked his partner.  
  
"'Cause you were about to do something stupid. You had that look again. And  
  
it might help if we knew what happened before we go charging in." Tsukaimon  
  
whispered back. The digimon flew over, landing on Maisy's head. "Why don't  
  
you tell us what happened next?" he asked softly.  
  
"Well, Grandpa got a strange visitor a little over a week ago, and then he  
  
started acting strange. He started chasing off all the Slowpoke that lived  
  
around here. And all these Machops showed up, and they were really mean ones.   
  
Then, this morning, I checked in on Grandpa and saw him talking to what looked  
  
like a Magmar. He saw me, started screaming, and had the Machops throw me out."  
  
"Well, why don't Kyle and I take you to the police station, and you can tell  
  
the police what happened?"  
  
"No!" Maisy replied. "He's just been under a lot of stress, that's all!"  
  
Kyle looked right into Maisy's eyes. "There's no excuse for what he did." he  
  
replied. "Is there another way in? I think I'd like to have a word with your  
  
grandfather." He glanced at Tsukaimon before the digimon could say anything.   
  
"I promise, I won't get into a fight with him. I just want to find out his  
  
side of the story." And shove it down his throat, Kyle added mentally.  
  
"You can get in around the back through the Apricorn groves, but there's all  
  
those Machop guarding the place."  
  
"We'll be fine. Why don't you go to the police station. Or the pokemon  
  
center, if it's closer?" Kyle replied. "Do you know the way?"  
  
Maisy nodded. "They're in the same building." Kyle nodded, grinned, and saw  
  
Maisy off.  
  
"Okay, what's going on?" Tsukaimon asked.  
  
"Maisy's trouble started just before Parrotmon showed up. And this guy just  
  
happens to be the number one pokeball maker in these parts. I think there's a  
  
connection. So we sneak in, and find out how this Kurt guy was bought off."  
  
"In other words," Tsukaimon replied evenly, "your spider-sense is tingling."  
  
"No," Kyle replied sarcastically, "I just got a call on my belt-buckle Bat-  
  
Phone from the Commissioner. Now, do you want to put on the Robin suit, or are  
  
we going to do this?" Grumbling, Tsukaimon followed Kyle, and the two headed  
  
towards the forested area.  
  
==  
  
Casey knelt beside Maisy, and listened to the story of how her grandfather had  
  
tossed her out that morning. "That's terrible!" Casey exclaimed. "I hope the  
  
police throw the book at him!"  
  
Maisy sniffed. "You sound like that boy I talked to earlier. He said pretty  
  
much the same thing. He even had a weird pokemon following him around, just  
  
like you." Maisy indicated Kunemon.  
  
"I am NOT a Weedle!" Kunemon growled, getting tired of the running gag.  
  
Casey had a sudden feeling of dread. "This boy...did his pokemon have big  
  
ears and purple skin?"  
  
"Yeah!" Maisy said. "Do you know him? Are you his little sister?"  
  
"Ew!" Casey replied, sickened. "Well, there's no way I'm letting that jerk  
  
cause any more trouble. I'll go bring him back!" Casey got up and walked  
  
towards Kurt's estate.  
  
==  
  
The fifth Machop fell to the ground, unconscious. "That was a really intense  
  
fight." Wizardmon huffed. "Shame no one was filming it."  
  
"More on the way. Did you have to knock that tree over with that lightning  
  
bolt? We were TRYING to be quiet, remember."  
  
"Picky, picky." Wizardmon replied, twirling his staff in one hand. "These  
  
guys are pushovers. NEXT!"  
  
Two more Machops obliged him. The first was quickly knocked out by a  
  
carefully aimed lightning bolt, the second was tackled by Kyle, who rolled  
  
clear and allowed Wizardmon a chance to get a second shot off. "This is  
  
getting us...huh?" Kyle leaned over, inspecting one of the felled pokemon.   
  
Part of the body was cracked, as if it were made of plaster. Underneath was an  
  
evil looking black substance. Curious, Kyle brushed at the cracked area on  
  
Machop, revealing more and more black material. "Some kind of rock pokemon?"  
  
"DUCK!" Strikedramon yelled, claw smashing into another attacking pokemon.   
  
Like the one Kyle was examining, this one too was made of the same black  
  
material. "They're made of control spires! They're not real pokemon!" the  
  
digimon explained.  
  
Seth, his Wizardmon, and Stuart ran over to Kyle and his Wizardmon. "Ryo  
  
called us and told us you'd be here; we couldn't get here until now thanks to  
  
SOMEONE getting the portals mixed up."  
  
"What?" Strikedramon replied. "We weren't that far off!"  
  
"How did Control Spire digimon get here?" Seth wondered. "Wait, pokemon.   
  
This is bad, guys."  
  
"Perhaps Demon and the Dark Ocean have changed their target from the digital  
  
world to here." Seth's Wizardmon mused.  
  
"I don't like that at all." Strikedramon said. "Which one were you again?"  
  
Wizardmon sighed and pointed to Seth. "Right. We gotta start naming you guys."  
  
"Deal with it later." Kyle said. "We have to get to Kurt's place; the answers  
  
lie there! Come on, Wizardmon!" Kyle and his Wizardmon ran towards the house,  
  
off in the distance."  
  
"Right. Let's go, Binky." Strikedramon said, following.  
  
"Binky?" Seth asked. Wizardmon made no reply, just shaking his head and  
  
vowing revenge.  
  
==  
  
Casey made it to the front gate of Kurt's estate, and was surprised to find  
  
the door unlocked. Cautiously, she pushed the door open. Seeing no one, she  
  
wandered inside. "I guess no one's home."  
  
"Be careful," Kunemon whispered, following Casey, "there's something odd here.  
  
I can sense it."  
  
"You're just being silly." Casey replied. "Right, Bayleef?" Eagerly, Bayleef  
  
nodded. The trio made their way through the house, in the direction of Kurt's  
  
workshop. "I think I hear something going on in there. Let's have a look."  
  
Opening the door, Casey, Weedle, and Bayleef peeked into the room, and saw  
  
Kurt there, as well as a large humanoid figure, seemingly wrapped in reddish-  
  
black flame. "The new capture balls are working just fine." Kurt said. "I'll  
  
be glad when this assignment is finally over. Do I really have to maintain  
  
this disguise, Darkrizamon?"  
  
The humanoid creature nodded. "You know as well as I do that this form is  
  
shielded against detection. Once you shed it, Mewtwo or the other guardians  
  
may detect you on this plane."  
  
Casey moved away from the door, confused by what she had heard. "What's going  
  
on here?" she whispered. "Did we sneak onto a movie set or something?"  
  
Darkrizamon looked up. "Who's there?" he called. Snarling, he and Kurt  
  
smashed through the door, in time to see Casey, Bayleef, and Kunemon round a  
  
corner, heading for the exit. "Stop her!" Kurt yelled. Snarling, Darkrizamon  
  
gave chase.  
  
A minute later (Kurt's got a *big* house, folks -ed), Casey made it back to  
  
the front gate. "I think we lost them." she gasped.  
  
"No you didn't!" Darkrizamon yelled, crashing through the door. "Snipe Fang!"  
  
"Bayleef!" Casey yelled. "Razor Leaf attack!" Bayleef followed Casey's  
  
command, but the attack never got close to Darkrizamon; the leaves ignited  
  
before they could hit, burned by the flames covering Darkrizamon's body.  
  
"You'll have to do better than that, kid." Darkrizamon snarled. He jumped  
  
forward, claws extended.  
  
"Kunemon, digivolve to...Yanmamon!"  
  
==  
  
Between Strikedramon and the two Wizardmon, the small army of artificial  
  
pokemon was cleared rather quickly. Seth looked around, a bit annoyed. "If  
  
they didn't know we were coming before, they do now."  
  
Strikedramon shrugged. "Eh, so what? Bring 'em on, I could use a good fight  
  
right about now."  
  
Kyle glanced at Stuart. "He's been watching 'Star Wars', hasn't he?"  
  
"Dad just sprang for a DVD player." Stuart explained. "'Han Solo' here's been  
  
watching the three original movies. So, do we just crash in, or look for a  
  
door?"  
  
"You mean we can't just use the force?" Kyle's Wizardmon asked sarcastically.  
  
Kyle was about to respond when he heard a fight coming from the far end of the  
  
house. At the same time, a small section of the wall ignited, and a small  
  
figure stepped out. It was human, looked old, and seemed extremely annoyed.   
  
He glanced at the three humans, then their digimon. "I should have known  
  
this'd happen. Chasing out that little brat and those annoying slackers caused  
  
more trouble than it was worth."  
  
"Who are you?" Kyle demanded. "Are you Kurt?"  
  
"I was." the human replied. "But I got a better offer!" The human glowed,  
  
then changed into a large skeletal figure.   
  
"Skull Satamon!" Strikedramon growled. "Where's the real Kurt?"  
  
"Resting. Skull Hammer!" A black warhammer materialized out of nowhere, and  
  
slammed into the ground, forcing the humans and digimon to scatter.   
  
"Darkrizamon can content himself with one human; killing all six of you will be  
  
more fun!" A bolt of lightning in Skull Satamon's face interrupted his tirade.  
  
"Go!" Seth yelled at Kyle. "We'll take care of this one, you get after  
  
Darkrizamon!"  
  
"Thanks!" Kyle yelled.  
  
"Hey, you're fighting us!" Strikedramon yelled, tackling the demonic digimon.  
  
"Be careful!" Stuart called. "He's an Ultimate level digimon!"  
  
"Never tell me the odds!" Strikedramon yelled back, before getting thrown off.  
  
"See?" he went on, dazed.  
  
==  
  
Kyle and Wizardmon darted around another Machop, then jumped into the house  
  
through an open window. "Over here!" he hissed. "I heard something!" Two  
  
seconds later, what he heard came round the corner. Casey, Bayleef following  
  
her, ran 'round the corner and barreled into Kyle, full tilt. Both went down.  
  
"What the...YOU?" both said.  
  
"Get off me, you pervert!" Casey yelled.  
  
"You're the one who bowled me over!" Kyle snarled back.  
  
"Well, I'll just leave you two alone then..." Wizardmon said, trying to get  
  
around the two humans. "Do try and keep it...PG level?"  
  
"SHUT UP!" both of them yelled.  
  
"Well, I'll just be going then..." Wizardmon whispered, deciding to  
  
investigate the hall a bit more.  
  
"What are you doing here anyway?" Kyle demanded.  
  
"I was trying to find out why that poor girl was kicked out of her house! I  
  
should have known you'd be in on it!"  
  
"I'M NOT!"  
  
"Bayleef?" the pokemon glanced between the two humans, confused. "Bay?   
  
Bayleef?"  
  
"No, don't waste a Razor Leaf on him." Casey replied.  
  
"Gee, thanks." Kyle huffed. "Uncute tomboy." he muttered.   
  
"I heard that!" Casey half-shouted, getting up.  
  
Kyle scowled, also getting up. "Hey, where's Kunemon?"  
  
"That Weedle that was following me?" Casey asked. "He evolved and told me to  
  
run while he fought something called a Darkrizamon. It's some weird flame-type  
  
pokemon I've never heard of."  
  
"I'm not a Weedle!" Yanmamon shouted as he flew past, Wizardmon following him.  
  
"Now RUN!"  
  
"Darkrizamon's right behind us!" Wizardmon added. "We have to take the fight  
  
outside!"  
  
"What's wrong with right here?" a soft voice asked. Kyle recognized it  
  
instantly. Walking slowly, Darkrizamon walked around the corner. "Kyle  
  
Evanick. It has been a while. I see your little friend has gotten better."  
  
"No thanks to you, brimstone brain." Wizardmon replied.  
  
"Such language. You know, I was almost hoping you'd come here. I do so want  
  
to take pleasure in destroying the both of you slowly and at my leisure. After  
  
all, you don't have Michael and his little water snake to hide behind, do you?   
  
Or Seth and his little magician?"  
  
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizardmon launched a barrage of lightning bolts at  
  
Darkrizamon. Darkrizamon was pushed back, but uninjured. "God may forgive  
  
you, but Wizardmon never will!"  
  
"Great, he's quoting 'Battle Angel'." Kyle said. "We're in trouble."  
  
"Battle Angel?" Casey asked.  
  
"I see you've not changed much. I however, have made a deal with the Demon.   
  
Darkrizamon, digivolve to...Diablosmon!" (ever play FF8? You know the GF  
  
Diablos? That's the one. -ed) "Dark Messenger!"  
  
==  
  
Strikedramon ducked as a large black sphere exploded through the roof of  
  
Kurt's house, then fell back through a second hole. "Gwaah?"  
  
"I see Darkrizamon has digivolved. Now there are two Ultimate level evil  
  
digimon to battle. Aren't you proud?" Skull Satamon cackled as he taunted  
  
Strikedramon and Wizardmon.  
  
"If you can digivolve again, now's the time to show us!" Stuart said to his  
  
partner.  
  
"Oh, SURE." Strikedramon replied. "I'll just wave my arms and turn into Super-  
  
Metal Strikedramon."  
  
"Can the sarcasm!" Stuart replied.  
  
"Both of you knock it off!" Seth interrupted. "We ARE trying to save the  
  
world here! Wizardmon, duck!" Wizardmon dodged a wild swing by Skull Satamon.  
  
"Perhaps we should try DNA digivolving?" Wizardmon suggested between attacks.  
  
Seth and Stuart glanced at each other. "Yeah, easy." Stuart said, frowning.   
  
"None of the other digidestined even know how to do it. They just did it."  
  
"The ones that did pull it off were usually in synch with each other in some  
  
way." Wizardmon observed.  
  
"This is all very fascinating..." Strikedramon, grappling with Skull Satamon,  
  
gasped, "but we do have an insane skull-devil from the pit to deal with!"   
  
Skull Satamon shuddered as another lightning bolt hit it. "Thanks!"  
  
Strikedramon called to Wizardmon.  
  
"I'll deal with you later." Wizardmon replied. "'Binky' indeed." he huffed.  
  
"Hey, I was just joking, alright? Jeez, try to lighten up a bit!"  
  
Skull Satamon jumped into the air, using his wings to hover. "Nail Bone  
  
Strike!" Energy bolts shot out, striking human and digimon alike. One large  
  
bolt was aimed at the two humans. "It is Master Demon's theory that if I kill  
  
a human, his digimon partner will lose all its power. Shall we test that  
  
theory?" The bolt of energy was released, aimed at Stuart and Seth.   
  
Instinctively, they flinched, ready to die...  
  
"Strikedramon!"  
  
"Wizardmon!"  
  
"DNA Digivolve to...CYBERDRAMON!"  
  
==  
  
Diablosmon looked at the devastation. No sign of any opponents. "A pity. I  
  
had so looked forward to tormenting that boy and his flying pig again. I guess  
  
I shall have to find some other entertainment. Ah..." The demonic digimon  
  
reached down, brushed aside some rubble, and found Casey, lying unconscious.   
  
"Still alive. A prize for Demon." A spray of leaves hit Diablosmon's arm.   
  
"Ahh, the walking plant."  
  
"Bay...BayLEEEEEEEF!" Bayleef seemed to fluoresce, then his form changed as  
  
the pokemon evolved. "Meganium!"  
  
"Digivolution?" Diablosmon mused. "This should be amusing." He was a bit  
  
concerned about the alarming way the pokemon's neck-leaves were glowing white,  
  
though.  
  
"Put her down!" Yanmamon demanded. Diablosmon, distracted, faced Yanmamon.  
  
"Or what?" Diablosmon asked, amused.  
  
"This! Insect Swarm!" Yanmamon's wings gave off a soft whine as they flapped  
  
even faster.  
  
"Okay..." Diablosmon said after a few seconds. "And that was supposed to...?"  
  
"Yan? Yanma!" A small swarm of Yanma appeared, hovering around Yanmamon.  
  
"This, I guess....GET HIM!" Yanmamon shouted. Obediently, the Yanma did,  
  
firing off what amounted to a massed Sonic Boom assault (And shattered every  
  
window in a five block radius -ed).  
  
"ARRRHHH! STOP THAT INFERNAL NOISE!" Diablosmon shouted. He tried to get  
  
away, dropping Casey as he did. Yanmamon darted forward, catching his partner.  
  
"Thanks!" he called to the Yanma, now departing. "You'll have to teach me how  
  
to do that sometime!"  
  
"Yan! Yanyan!" the pokemon called, getting clear of the battle area.  
  
"You blasted...I won't be made a fool of!" The rest of Diablosmon's rant was  
  
lost when Meganium's Solarbeam struck him in the back, between the wings.   
  
Diablosmon fell into the wreckage of Kurt's house.  
  
"What's all the noise?" Kyle asked, getting up. He saw Wizardmon standing  
  
beside him, staff held up, concentrating.  
  
"Well," Kyle's partner replied lightly, "the fight was going well until  
  
Darkrizamon digivolved into a freaky-looking devil and kinda dropped the house  
  
on us. And the only reason I'm not fighting is 'cause I'm using my power to  
  
keep the roof from crushing us."  
  
"Where's that kid...?"  
  
"Casey? Her partner turned into Yanmamon, summoned a whole bunch of bugs, and  
  
blasted Diablosmon with some kind of sonic attack. All caught up? Oh, and  
  
that oversized hanging basket evolved and fired a laser, too."  
  
Kyle shrugged. "Ah. Everything's normal then."  
  
"Quite. Shall we join the fight?" Wizardmon launched a lightning bolt, and  
  
shattered the rubble covering them.   
  
"Here." Yanmamon said, dropping Casey in front of the two. "Keep an eye on  
  
her!"  
  
"Wait for me!" Wizardmon called, following Yanmamon. "Kyle, wait there."  
  
"What? No way!"  
  
Wizardmon stopped, turned, and aimed his staff at Kyle. "I'll take care of  
  
that wannabe devil. You keep an eye on the girl."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Trust me." Wizardmon said, a bit more forcefully, and ran in.  
  
Casey stirred. Kyle knelt down, checking to see if she was bleeding. "What  
  
hit me?" she groaned. "Oh, it's you."  
  
"You're welcome." Kyle replied sarcastically. "You always this polite, or do  
  
I just have that effect on you?"  
  
"Eww, gross!" Casey retorted. Meganium wandered over, battered but still  
  
conscious. "Bayleef? No, you evolved into Meganium, that's great!" Meganium  
  
glanced back to the battle. "You want to go back in there? Should I send  
  
Beedrill to help?" Meganium shook her head. Casey nodded. "Be careful. Stay  
  
back and pepper him with your Razor Leaf attack. And when you get an opening,  
  
send that creep to the bleachers with your Solar Beam attack." Meganium nodded.  
  
"Are you nuts?" Kyle gasped. "That pokemon's barely able to stand!"  
  
"I trust my pokemon!" Casey replied. "Which is more than I can say for you!"   
  
Kyle started to reply, but Casey pushed on. "I've seen your type before; you  
  
think all you can rely on is yourself, so you don't bother getting close to any  
  
of your pokemon! How many do you have, anyway?"  
  
"Wizardmon, but he's not-NO!" Kyle jumped up. As they were talking,  
  
Diablosmon swung his arm down and caught Wizardmon with a bony hand, sending  
  
the digimon flying. On impulse, Kyle ran over, checking on Wizardmon. "Hey,  
  
you still with me?"  
  
"Kyle!" Casey shrieked. Diablosmon had knocked Yanmamon aside, and had aimed  
  
a sphere of black energy at him. "No, don't do it!"  
  
"Die, Evanick!" Diablosmon yelled. "Dark Messenger!" Diablosmon launched the  
  
attack, grinning in response to Kyle's angered and defiant look.  
  
==  
  
Cyberdramon dodged the attack, worried. Even at this power level, Skull  
  
Satamon was still able to ward off his attacks. More worrying was the fact  
  
that Skull Satamon was leading the battle away from the mansion, a fact not  
  
lost on Seth and Stuart. "Hold still, blast it!"  
  
"And spoil the fun?" Skull Satamon taunted. "Nail Bone!" Growling,  
  
Cyberdramon caught the staff in his hand, yanked, and pulled it out of Skull  
  
Satamon's grasp. "Hey, give that back!"  
  
"Make me." Cyberdramon replied, idly snapping the staff in two. "Ooops.   
  
Clumsy me."  
  
Yowling, Skull Satamon charged, slamming into Cyberdramon and driving him into  
  
the ground. "I'll feast on your digicore, and use your skull to top my new  
  
staff!" Cyberdramon grabbed Skull Satamon by the ribs, heaved, and sent the  
  
devil flying back to the mansion.  
  
"Kurt's gonna be pissed." Stuart said. "At this rate, he won't have a home to  
  
go back to!"  
  
"I'm sure it's insured." Seth replied. "Acts of pokemon and all that. Hate  
  
to see the premiums after this is over. Ohh, there goes the kitchen."  
  
"Monodramon's not gonna like that." Stuart replied. The two humans were a bit  
  
numbed by the ferocity of the battle, and the rather unusual way their partners  
  
had digivolved.  
  
"They wrecked the kitchen?" Cyberdramon asked, Strikedramon's voice creeping  
  
through. "That tears it!" Cyberdramon flew up, dove, and ploughed into Skull  
  
Satamon, driving him through the living room.  
  
"Yeah, way to defend the house." Seth groaned, as a part of the roof fell in.   
  
A few yards over, another black sphere tore through the roof and fell.   
  
"They'll be fine. Let's see how the others are doing!"  
  
"No, further *into* the kill zone." Stuart replied, following Seth. They got  
  
about half way when the black sphere was intercepted by a bolt of blue energy.  
  
==  
  
Kyle opened his eyes, wondering why he and Wizardmon weren't dead yet. His  
  
eyes focussed, and he saw a large white hound, firing a bolt of blue energy at  
  
the black sphere. "Absol!" Kyle gasped. The Pichu that was with him hopped  
  
off of Absol's back, and ran over to Kyle. Absol kept his focus on Diablosmon.   
  
"He came back to save us?" Casey wondered. She glanced over and saw Yanmamon  
  
get up, trying to get back into the fight.  
  
"Wizardmon? Come on, wake up!" Kyle shook Wizardmon. Curious, Pichu ran  
  
over, sniffed Wizardmon, and waved at Kyle. On instinct, Kyle put Wizardmon on  
  
the ground, and Pichu proceeded to use the basic first aid treatment all  
  
electric type pokemon knew.  
  
Electroshock therapy. "Piiii...CHUUU!"  
  
"GWAAAHHH! I'M AWAKE!" Wizardmon yelled. "Could you have found a GENTLER way  
  
of waking me up? Rap music, maybe?"  
  
"Ew." Kyle said without hesitation. He looked up and saw Absol had jumped,  
  
firing more blue energy bolts at Diablosmon.  
  
"That Absol knows Ice Beam?" Casey gasped. "He must be a really high level!"  
  
"Marvel later, we have to beat him!" Yanmamon said, wincing.  
  
It was a second after this rather obvious statement that Skull Satamon and  
  
Cyberdramon, still locked in combat, crashed through one wall, nearly flattened  
  
Casey, and went out the other wall, adding to the general level of destruction.  
  
"What was THAT?" Casey yelled.  
  
"Another digimon?" Wizardmon guessed, getting a 'well, DUH' look from everyone  
  
else in the room (yes, including Diablosmon -ed).  
  
"Kyle!" Seth yelled from the opposite end of the room. "You OK?"  
  
"Just peachy!" Kyle yelled back. Wizardmon got up and headed back to join the  
  
battle. Kyle got up to join him, but Wizardmon waved him back.  
  
"Just trust me." Wizardmon said. "Casey, you keep him here."  
  
"Guh?" Casey managed, thrown off. "How...?"  
  
"Take him to dinner, I don't know!" Wizardmon replied. Both Kyle and Casey  
  
started to get angry, but Wizardmon turned and fixed both humans with a glare.   
  
"You," he said, pointing to Casey, "lighten up. You," indicating Kyle, "trust  
  
me."  
  
"The line," Kyle replied after a second's hesitation, "is 'big trouble.'"  
  
"Whatever." Wizardmon shrugged, then dashed in, lightning flaring from his  
  
staff.  
  
"Who was that big black digimon?" Casey asked Stuart.  
  
"Cyberdramon." Stuart replied. "Our digimon combined to form a single more  
  
powerful digimon."  
  
"Enough!" Diablosmon roared, swinging madly. Absol dodged the attack, landing  
  
on the remains of the television, Yanmamon on what looked like a refrigerator,  
  
Wizardmon ducking into a china cabinet. "Shadow Glaive!" A jet black polearm  
  
appeared, which Diablosmon started swinging with what could be called wild  
  
abandon.  
  
"This is getting out of hand!" Casey yelled.  
  
"When was it IN hand?" Seth asked incredulously.  
  
"I mean, our digimon should try that too!" Casey half-shouted. Kyle blinked,   
  
confused. "Look," Casey went on, "normally, I'd rather not team up with a   
  
weirdo pervert, but we don't have a lot of choice!"  
  
"You smooth, silver tongued devil, you." Stuart muttered.  
  
"Funny way of building team spirit. So, what, we have to do the fusion dance  
  
or something?"  
  
"It just kinda...happened." Seth replied. As he spoke, Absol caught the blunt  
  
edge of Diablosmon's Shadow Glaive, and was sent flying. Seeing an  
  
opportunity, Diablosmon swung his glaive again, eager for the kill.  
  
On impulse, Kyle ran in, hoping to grab Absol and drag him clear. Unnoticed,  
  
Casey followed, same idea in mind. "Stay back!" Yanmamon yelled. "Wizardmon!"  
  
"On it! Terror Illusion!" Wizardmon fired a bolt of energy at Diablosmon's  
  
head, temporarily blinding him.  
  
"Thanks!" Casey called, helping Kyle carry Absol away from the battle. Pichu  
  
stayed with Absol, worried. "We need to get him to a pokemon center!"  
  
"Worry about yourselves! Dark Messenger!"  
  
"No!" Seth yelled! "Get out of there!"  
  
Wizardmon and Yanmamon reacted at the same time, ramming the swinging blade  
  
and knocking it aside, making it miss the target. "Are they...glowing?" Kyle  
  
asked.  
  
"Hey, this thing I found is glowing too!" Casey took out the small digivice,  
  
which was emitting a light, pulsing in time to Yanmamon's own fluorescence.  
  
"Yanmamon!"  
  
"Wizardmon!"  
  
"DNA Digivolve to...Wolfmon!" (Yeah, like the Frontier Wolfmon. No laser on  
  
his arm, though -ed)  
  
"No!" Diablosmon shouted. "Not another one!"  
  
"You'd better believe it! Licht Seiger" Wolfmon pulled out both energy  
  
swords, and started swinging, carving nasty gashes in Diablosmon's legs and  
  
torso. "Check on Cyberdramon!"  
  
"Right!" Seth and Stuart ran out one of the many holes in the wall, concerned  
  
about their partner (Partners. Whatever -ed). They got about two feet before  
  
Skull Satamon sailed back into the battle zone, pursued by a grinning  
  
Cyberdramon, hands glowing.  
  
"Uhh...he's fine." Seth said to no one in particular.  
  
"Finish it quickly!" Kyle said. "I think Absol needs help right now!"  
  
"Done!" Cyberdramon said. "Erase Claw!" Skull Satamon was pelted with dozens  
  
of energy blasts, bits of him seeming to vanish. The assault went on for  
  
several seconds, then, when there was nothing left of Skull Satamon,  
  
Cyberdramon nodded. "Need a hand?" he called to Wolfmon.  
  
"No. He's OURS!" Wolfmon roared, charging again. His first sword slash cut  
  
through the Dark Messenger Diablosmon hurled, dispelling the attack. The  
  
second sword buried itself in the demon digimon's gut, up to the crosspiece.  
  
"N...no..." Diablosmon gasped. "I was winning..."  
  
"Sure you were." Wolfmon replied, linking his two swords together. The two  
  
sword grips locked together, and Wolfmon held it like a bow, pulling back on an  
  
invisible string. "Licht...Pfenil!" (Bad German for 'Light Arrow' -ed). He  
  
released the string, and an arrow of pure light shot out, impaling Diablosmon.   
  
The digimon stumbled back and fell over.  
  
The silence after the battle was a bit unnerving. Cyberdramon, Wolfmon, Kyle,  
  
Casey, Seth, and Stuart looked around, not sure what to do next. "Now what?"  
  
Cyberdramon asked, looking at Diablosmon's inert form.  
  
"Catch him in a pokeball?" Casey hazarded.  
  
"You really WANT to train him?" Wolfmon replied.  
  
Kyle was about to interject something when Maisy, followed by Officer Jenny,  
  
wandered in. "Wh...WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?" Maisy shrieked. Jenny blinked,  
  
overwhelmed.  
  
Without waiting, everyone else in the room pointed at Diablosmon, pointed, and   
  
said "He did it."   
  
Diablosmon stirred, and got up. "It's not...over!"  
  
"Erase Claw!"  
  
"Licht Pfenil!"  
  
The two attacks struck, and Diablosmon disintegrated. "It is now." Wolfmon  
  
said, smirking, then splitting back into Kunemon and Tsukaimon. Cyberdramon  
  
nodded, and split back into Monodramon, and a small, floating...candelabra?  
  
"Hi, I'm Candlemon." the digimon introduced himself to Seth.  
  
"Always wanted a night light." Seth mused, looking at the rookie level  
  
digimon. "Can you turn back to Wizardmon?"  
  
"Soon, I think." Candlemon replied. "DNA Digivolving took a lot of energy out  
  
of me."  
  
"Um..." Officer Jenny looked around. "How am I going to write this up?"  
  
==Later.  
  
They found Kurt. He'd been tossed into Slowpoke Well, and had survived only  
  
due to the Slowpoke living there bringing him food. Though he swore if he ever  
  
ate raw fish again, he'd throw the chef responsible down the Well himself.  
  
"So, you're heading home?" Casey asked.  
  
Stuart shrugged. "Yeah. School may be winding down, but I don't think they'd  
  
believe where I've been. Shame there's no sunset; we heroes like to have the  
  
nice, dramatic exits."  
  
Seth rolled his eyes. "How about you, Kyle? Now that Darkrizamon's  
  
been...shafted."  
  
"Are you trying to make me bolt?" Kyle replied. "Because that pun didn't even  
  
make me quiver."  
  
"Both of you stop it!" Casey complained. "It's bad enough I have to get  
  
partnered with a pervert."  
  
"Look." Kyle said, annoyed. "I was just going to ask you to turn that stupid  
  
radio down last night, that's all!" He hmph'd, folded his arms, and muttered  
  
"uncute tomboy" under his breath.  
  
"It wasn't stupid." Casey replied. "I wonder...hey, it changed!" She looked  
  
at her digivice. It was a D-3 now, and had a colour scheme that she  
  
recognized. "And it even has the colours for the Electabuzz!"  
  
"The who?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Oh, it's a baseball team." Kunemon said. "Casey spent half the trip talking  
  
about it."  
  
"Gahh." Kyle said.  
  
"What?" Casey demanded.  
  
"Don't mind him." Tsukaimon said. "He's never even seen a baseball game."  
  
"H-he hasn't?"  
  
Tsukaimon shook his head. "Nope. He thinks sports are a complete waste of  
  
time."  
  
Kyle was about to reply that he never said anything like that when Casey  
  
grabbed his arm. "That's it, you're coming with me!" she said, dragging Kyle  
  
down the road. "There's a game at the park, and you're not leaving until I get  
  
that stupid idea out of your head! Waste of time my foot!" Meganium and  
  
Kunemon glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed the two.  
  
"Let me go you...you...Tsukaimon! Little help here?"  
  
"Have fun you two!" Tsukaimon waved. Absol and Pichu came from the Pokemon  
  
center just then, saw Kyle and Casey, and decided to follow them as well.  
  
"And so their eyes met." Monodramon sighed.  
  
"And shot daggers at each other." Seth replied. "Candlemon, you mind? I'm  
  
getting wax in my hair. HOT wax."  
  
"Oh, sorry." Candlemon said, hopping off of Seth's head.  
  
Next Episode  
  
The Authordestined arc concludes with two stories; first, Crystal Melin and  
  
Caryl Kyashi trying to rescue Ryo Akiyama and TK from Team Rocket, who has  
  
learned of the existence of digimon and wants that power for themselves. In  
  
the second story, an unusual companion meets Edward Silver as he chases after  
  
an egg taken from Lugia by none other than Rayquaza, the legendary Dragon.   
  
Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -   
  
'First Wolfmon, now HIM?' and 'Legendary trainer to be: Trey Miller!' 


	31. Digicross TV Series 30 First Wolfmon, no...

Digicross Episode 30  
  
"First Wolfmon, now HIM?"  
  
==Celadon City.  
  
Crystal Melin strolled down the street, humming a cheery tune. Behind her, TK, her boyfriend and designated pack mule for the day, struggled to keep up with her, balance the two boxes and three bags, all dangerously close to spilling, falling, or some other form of disaster. "You're in a good mood today." TK commented.  
  
Crystal turned around. "Hey, I'm celebrating, I'm supposed to be in a good mood."  
  
TK started thinking, trying to figure out what it was he forgot. "Okay, it can't be your birthday, and it's nowhere near Christmas. Kyle didn't say anything about any special holidays-"  
  
"Oh, I didn't tell you!" Crystal gasped. She reached into a pocket on her white jacket, and took out a small plaque. On it were affixed eight small objects.   
  
Gym badges, TK realized. Then the significance struck him. "Eight gym badges...hey, you can compete in the Indigo League now!"  
  
"That's right! And, because I've been such a good little girl, I'm going to celebrate! Come on, there's one more store I'm just dying to see!"  
  
"Great." TK muttered. "I hope it sells something light!"  
  
"Oh, don't worry!" Crystal said, leading TK down the street. After a few minutes, they stopped. "See? It's a restaurant. You looked a bit tired."  
  
"Even pack mules have to eat." TK agreed, Crystal sticking her tongue out at him in response. The two looked up the street, and saw a familiar figure running towards them.  
  
"TK! Crystal!" Caryl yelled. Walking at a more dignified pace, Prima followed the girl, smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was celebrating getting my eighth gym badge." Crystal answered. "So I decided to do a little shopping. Kurt and my other pokemon are at the Pokemon Center now, with Patamon."  
  
"Hey! That's where I left Renamon." Caryl replied. "She said she was tired. I can't imagine why, though."  
  
"Keeping up with you is...a challenge." Prima said, catching up. Her grin remained as Crystal looked up, recognized Prima, and started stuttering a greeting. "It's alright. The nasty Elite Four member isn't going to challenge you to a battle. Caryl and I were simply sightseeing, that's all."  
  
"It's great here." Caryl added. "I love large cities like this. And it's so much...cleaner than back home."  
  
"She's been like this all day." Prima sighed. "I must be getting old; I don't remember being that energetic at that age. But I must apologize. I hope we did not interrupt your date."  
  
"Oh, it was just a shopping spree." Crystal said. "A few things for Kurt, a new set of brushes for Ponyta, and a few treats for my newest pokemon. Nurse Joy said it was rare to see a pokemon like that around here."  
  
"New pokemon?" TK asked.  
  
"Oh, I caught him a few weeks ago, and he helped me win my eighth badge. I call him Logan. According to my pokedex...well, how about I just show you, after lunch?"  
  
==  
  
Across the street, two men in dark clothing monitored the conversation. "That's one of them. He's one of the ones Namba wants. Should we take him now?" The two watched as the group entered the restaurant, and came out again, sitting in the small patio.  
  
"In the middle of the city?" the other man demanded. "Besides, that's Prima of the Elite Four with them. We'd last about two seconds. And I think that girl said something about a rare pokemon. We tail them until they're out of the city, and then grab them. Wait, someone else is coming."  
  
"Right. I'll notify Giovanni. I'm surprised he's getting involved in this so personally."  
  
==  
  
"Ryo!" Caryl yelled, waving to the pokemon trainer who had just left a store. Curious, Ryo ran over.  
  
"Caryl!" Ryo gasped. "Uh...hi! TK, Crystal...Oh, um, hi, Aunt Loreli..." (Note: Prima's her stage name, Loreli's her real name. Anyone calling her 'Loreli' outside of family and CLOSE friends gets an Ice Beam enema. Trust me, it's not pleasant -ed)  
  
Crystal gagged. "AUNT Loreli?" She stared at Ryo. "You mean, you're related to..."  
  
"Well, I guess greatness runs in the family..." Ryo managed.  
  
"We try not to make a big deal out of it." Prima said. "So, what's that behind your back?" Ryo's face reddened. "Well, I don't think it's for me, and Crystal already has a boyfriend..."  
  
"Actually, I got it for Caryl." Ryo tried to whisper. Caryl's face reddened a bit.  
  
"I don't know." Caryl replied. "I'm still young and awfully innocent. How am I to know what kind of plans you have for me?" She took the present that Ryo (reluctantly) offered, and opened it. Inside was a small pin, amber carving of a flower blossom attached to it. "How'd...I was looking at this just a few days ago."  
  
"He asked me." Renamon said, appearing suddenly.  
  
"GWAHH!" Everyone except Prima said, nearly falling over (Prima, an experienced pokemon trainer, battler, and world traveler, was used to this sort of thing. -ed).  
  
"You asked her?" Caryl asked Ryo when everyone had recovered. Ryo's only response was to blush a bit more.  
  
"He was quite insistent." Renamon went on. "Charmeleon filled me in on the parts I had missed."  
  
"He knows about this too? OK, I'm getting the whole story!" With that, Caryl got up, and ran off to the pokemon center. Crystal and TK thanked Prima, and followed Caryl.  
  
"Ryo, dear." Prima said to her nephew. "Am I to believe that you have a girlfriend now?"  
  
"She's just a friend, that's all!"  
  
Prima smiled again, unconvinced. "Of course. I will expect you to conduct yourself appropriately, then."  
  
"Auntie!"  
  
Prima stifled a laugh. "You haven't called me 'auntie' since you were six years old. Now get going."  
  
==  
  
Ryo ran up the street, trying to catch up with the rest of the digidestined before too much damage was done (namely, Charmeleon spilling everything -ed) As he ran, a pretty young blonde girl stepped out of an alleyway, colliding with him.  
  
"Oh," the girl squeaked, "I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up."  
  
Ryo accepted the hand, and got up. "My fault, thanks. Look, I'm sorry, but I have to run."  
  
"Oh, sure." the girl replied. "I...hey, aren't you Ryo Akiyama? The famous solo pokemon battler? I saw your match last year, and you were the coolest! Not to mention the hottest trainer there!"  
  
Ryo tried to get around the girl. "Thanks. Look, I have to-"  
  
"Oh, please, can't I get an autograph at least? I know all my friends would just die if they saw it!"  
  
Caryl chose that moment to peek around the corner. "Ryo? Are you...?" Caryl saw Ryo trying to get around a girl she didn't recognize. Feeling annoyed for some reason she couldn't understand, she marched over to the two. "Ryo? You ARE coming to the pokemon center, yes?"  
  
"Um...right, sure! Look," Ryo said to the (he assumed) fan girl. "I have to go. I'm sorry, I don't give autographs!"  
  
The girl pouted. "Well, if your little sister is so insistent...My name's Domino, call me sometime, all right?" she tossed a small scrap of paper to Ryo. Glaring, Caryl stepped forward and grabbed it. "Why *Ryo*!" Domino said, shocked. "I had no idea you were into that sort of thing. But if it's little girls..."  
  
"HEY!" Ryo suddenly shouted. "Don't. EVER. Insult Caryl. Like that. Again." he growled, in a lower voice, before turning and marching off. Confused, Caryl followed him.  
  
Domino watched the two leave. She straightened a bit, standing a few inches taller than she did a few moments ago. "Giovanni? I've made contact."  
  
==  
  
Ryo marched along, still mad. "Ryo?" Caryl asked. "Ryo! What is it?"  
  
He stopped, and then looked at Caryl. "I'm...sorry." he finally sighed. "It just...Insulting you just kind of set me off." he admitted, face coloring a bit.  
  
"Aww, that's so sweet." Caryl said. "I never had a knight in shining armour before."  
  
"That's me." Ryo admitted. "Though I left my Rapidash at home. Next time, I promise I'll ride to the rescue."  
  
Caryl snorted. "Hah! If anything, I'll be the one riding to your rescue!"  
  
The two hurried to the pokemon center, Ryo almost forgetting why he was headed there. Crystal and TK standing around Charmeleon, laughing themselves silly, brought it all back.  
  
==  
  
Two hours later, a thoroughly embarrassed Ryo was walking away from the pokemon center, TK following him. Crystal and Caryl had stayed behind at the center, to check out Crystal's other pokemon, and tour the rest of the center. Patamon and Charmeleon followed their partners.  
  
"So..." TK started.  
  
"Okay, I like her." Ryo said. "There, I said it. Happy?"  
  
"Sure." Charmeleon piped in. "You've only been acting all weird since you first saw her, that's all." TK smiled but wisely said nothing. "It's not my fault you decided to go to every jewelry store in Celadon until you found that thing. Where did you get the money?"  
  
"Out of your food budget." Ryo replied, a bit darkly.  
  
"I'll be good."  
  
"Well?" Ryo asked TK. "You seemed pretty quiet during the inquisition."  
  
"Hey, I leave all the matchmaking and gossip to the digimon." TK replied. Behind him, Patamon whistled, trying to look innocent. "Besides, if I said anything, Crystal would have turned on me. Um...where did you get that pin, anyway?"  
  
Ryo looked up. "That? Oh, it's a small store on Scissor Street, there used to be a pokemon beauty salon there. Something for Crystal?"  
  
"Yeah." TK admitted. "We've gone out twice, and I still have to..."  
  
Ryo blinked. "You took her out? On a date?" He glanced at Charmeleon. "Why wasn't I told?"  
  
TK sighed. "It doesn't count when your mom comes along. And I swore Patamon to secrecy."  
  
"He threatened to tie me up and give me to a preschool for use as a football." Patamon complained. (Hey, Suzie wasn't around, all right? -ed)  
  
Ryo chuckled. "Cute. Come on, let's head back."  
  
"Going so soon?" a voice called.  
  
Ryo glanced around. "Not you again." he muttered, seeing the blonde fan girl that he'd encountered in Celadon. Domino, that was her name.  
  
"That's no way to talk to your biggest fan." Domino pouted. "And I have so many people who are just dying to meet you. Come on out, boys!" She snapped her fingers, and several black-suited men came out, all with fierce expressions.  
  
Ryo recognized the outfits immediately. "Team Rocket! But how-?"  
  
Domino smiled. "Well, I sometimes go by Domino, but I'm really Agent 009, the Black Tulip, one of Team Rocket's best field agents."  
  
"Patamon!" TK said, reaching for his digivice. A sharp pain interrupted him in his chest. Looking down, he saw a small dart, shaped like a tulip with black petals. The drug in the dart worked quickly, and he passed out.  
  
"TK!" Charmeleon roared. "Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!"  
  
Patamon hovered protectively over TK, while Charizard flew at the Rocket grunts, flames shooting everywhere.  
  
==  
  
Caryl looked up. "Ryo?" she asked. Through an open window, she heard an explosion.  
  
"I heard it too." Renamon said, appearing by her. "Let's go!" Quickly, Caryl and Renamon ran out the door, followed by Crystal, Kurt, and a few of Crystal's other pokemon  
  
==  
  
The third Rocket grunt fell to Charizard's assault of flame and tail whips. Ryo punched out one more, and all that was left was Domino, apparently unconcerned. "You'd better leave now." Charizard warned. Domino smirked, pulling out another tulip. This one extended into a long staff, which the Rocket agent twirled easily. "That stick won't save you from me, or Ryo."  
  
"Or me!" Patamon added.  
  
"Cute. Hi-YAHH!" Suddenly, Domino leaped forward, catching the fire pokemon in the head with a flying kick, using her staff to pole-vault towards Charizard. She then thumbed a trigger; touched an end of the staff to Charizard, and the pokemon was electrocuted, quickly passing out.  
  
"Charizard!" Ryo gasped. A second later, he was caught by a circular claw that Domino tossed, and similarly knocked out.   
  
"Well?" Domino asked Patamon, still hovering. The digimon was stunned with the speed this attacker had shown. "Give up."  
  
"Never!" Patamon replied.  
  
Domino smirked, producing another tulip. She hurled it, and the steel tipped dart plunged into the ground beside TK's head. "It'd be a shame if anything happened to your trainer. He is cute, even if he is a bit young for my tastes."  
  
"You-" Patamon started, but got no further. A Gengar appeared in front of him, hypnotizing Patamon and rendering him unconscious. The ghost turned to Domino, and bowed.  
  
"I normally fight my own battles, but this does speed things up considerably." Domino heard shouting, and saw Crystal and Caryl running towards them, Eevee and Renamon following them. "Predictable. Alright everyone, gather them up. This'll take a second." She hurled a final tulip, which exploded into a gas bomb, stopping the digidestined from coming any nearer.  
  
"TK!" Crystal yelled.  
  
"Don't worry." Domino called back as a large dirigible flew overhead. "I'll take very good care of him. Ta!" She put on a jetpack one of the agents handed her, and flew up to the aircraft. The other agents gathered up the two boys and their partner monsters, and ran towards a small helicopter.  
  
"No!" Renamon shouted, jumping out of the smoke cloud.  
  
"One of them's coming through!" one of the Rocket agents called. "Go, Nidoking!" A large pokemon was released, purple, horned, and having a small metallic object on its head. "Rage boost, activate!" Nidoking roared a challenge, charging at Renamon.  
  
"You're in my way! Wisteria Punch!" Renamon's attack slammed into Nidoking, but to her surprise, had no effect. Nidoking responded with a brutal punch, catching Renamon in the side and sending her flying. She rolled, and managed to stand, but was badly hurt.  
  
"Finish them!" the rocket grunt yelled, getting into the helicopter.  
  
Caryl, Crystal and Eevee made it out of the smoke cloud. Caryl ran over to check on Renamon, while Crystal watched the helicopter get away. "Kurt, digivolve!"  
  
"Eevee, digivolve to...Espeon!" The psychic pokemon faced off against Nidoking, the more immediate threat. Instinctively, he launched a Psi-Wave, knowing that Nidoking was weak against such attacks. The poison pokemon flinched, but still stood. "Crystal! That thing on his head must be making him angry! He's able to resist my attacks!"  
  
"Then we'll double team him! Go, Logan!" Crystal released a second pokemon. This one was white with a blue, zigzag stripe on its chest. It looked small, but very stocky and agile. "Zangoose." it growled.  
  
"Be...careful..." Renamon groaned. "That pokemon is very strong."  
  
"He can't hit what he can't catch! FLASH!" Kurt released a bright flare of light, blinding Nidoking. Sensing an opening, Logan jumped forward, making several slashing attacks with his claws. The poison pokemon managed to resist those slashes, though Caryl did notice the light on the device on Nidoking's forehead seemed to flicker a bit.  
  
"Go for that thing on his head!" Caryl yelled. Renamon suddenly got up, jumped, and launched a Diamond Storm at Nidoking, several of the small darts striking the device, causing it to spark.  
  
"Logan! Crush Claw!" Crystal commanded.  
  
"Zannnn...GOOSE!" the pokemon yelled, jumping and making a pair of powerful slashes at the item. It crackled, then exploded, falling in several pieces at Nidoking's feet. The poison pokemon staggered.  
  
"Psi....BLAST!" Kurt yelled, firing his strongest psychic attack. Without the powerful emotion of rage to block the attack, Nidoking fell quickly. "Yes!" Kurt yelled.  
  
"They're getting away!" Crystal exclaimed, seeing the dirigible flying off. "They have TK, Ryo and their partners with them! TK..."  
  
Caryl looked around, and noticed a poke ball. "Hey, I think this is one of Ryo's. Go!" she called, opening the poke ball. A large Fearow appeared, cawing and looking around. Ryo wasn't in the bird's sight, so it started squawking loudly. "Shh, shh." Caryl said, trying to calm the bird down. "It's me, Caryl, remember? Ryo introduced me to you when we went flying together." Fearow recognized Caryl, and calmed a bit. "Listen, some people came and took Ryo and Charmeleon away, and we need you to help us go after them. Can you fly us up there?" she pointed to the dirigible, now a good distance away. Fearow looked at the aircraft, and nodded, lowering his head so the two girls and their partner monsters could climb on. Crystal recalled Kurt into his poke ball, and climbed on.  
  
"How'd you calm Fearow down?" Crystal asked, as Caryl and Renamon climbed on the bird.  
  
"Ryo took me flying on Fearow last week." Caryl replied. AS she spoke, Fearow spread his wings, and took off. "I hope we're not too heavy!" Fearow cawed, shaking his head as he flew. "Even so, I don't think we'll be as fast."  
  
"No problems!" Crystal replied. "Pidgeots may be faster, but Fearows have way more endurance for long flights. So, he took you flying, eh?"  
  
"Yeah." Caryl replied. "So?"  
  
"Well," Crystal said, a bit impishly, "it's a fairly common first date among trainers"  
  
Blushing, Caryl faced Renamon. "Not a word!"  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it." Renamon answered, smirking.  
  
==Aboard ship  
  
Dr. Namba looked over the young digidestined. "So, who is this boy?"  
  
"We don't know." a technician responded. "His image doesn't match any known trainers we have on file. Same for the pokemon he was found with. He could be from the Houen region; we don't have a lot of agents over there."  
  
"Yes. And about the pokemon?"  
  
"Not a clue. I'd classify it as a normal type pokemon, but I can't identify any genetic sequences that'd identify it as a pokemon. We're examining the devices that we found on the boy, but we've found nothing."  
  
Namba sniffed. "And Mr. Akiyama?"  
  
"He's in lab Two, with his Charmeleon. So far, Charmeleon has demonstrated nothing that suggests he's anything other than a normal pokemon of its type. The subject also had a device like the one we found on this boy."  
  
"And yet we have reliable information that both Charmeleon and this pokemon are able to evolve at will. Interesting. Focus on those devices the two trainers had; it may be the key to these creature's evolutionary abilities."  
  
Domino walked in, and saluted. "Both prisoners have been secured and sedated." She saw Ryo on the screen. "Can I have him when you're done?"  
  
Namba shook his head. "Really, child. This is hardly the time."  
  
"Please, grandpa?" Domino mock-whined. "This kid here's too young for me."  
  
"Dr. Namba!" another technician reported. "Two pokemon trainers are pursuing us on a Fearow."  
  
Namba and Domino glanced up as a screen switched itself on, showing the Fearow and the passengers. "It's that little girl." Domino snarled. "She had an unusual pokemon as well."  
  
"A new addition would be most welcome." Namba mused. He walked over to a console, and activated a communicator. "Master Giovanni?"  
  
"I'm keeping tabs on it." Giovanni replied. "Keep working. I will handle this." Abruptly, he cut the transmission.  
  
"He's here?" Domino asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes. After that debacle around Mewtwo's creation, Giovanni's decided that he would oversee any genetic experiments personally."  
  
==  
  
Upstairs, Antonio Giovanni, Master of Team Rocket, stood up and smirked. I will have the most powerful pokemon in the world, he thought, and I will destroy anyone who gets in my way. Young or old, boy or girl. "Release the Aerodactyl." he said into a speaker.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
==Outside  
  
"Hey, a door's opening!" Caryl said, pointing over Crystal's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, I see it. I got a bad feeling about it, too." Crystal replied. Her feeling was confirmed a second later as four Aerodactyl, stone skinned prehistoric pokemon reanimated by science, soared out. And flew right at Fearow and his passengers.  
  
"Fearow can't fight like this!" Crystal said, ducking.  
  
"Well, we can't really get off!" Caryl replied.  
  
"I can." Renamon said, leaping onto a passing Aerodactyl. Instantly, the fossil pokemon tried to shake Renamon off, calling for help as it twisted in midair. Grimly, Renamon hung on, though she wasn't attacking the Aerodactyl she was riding. One of the other Aerodactyl heard the cries, and broke off from attacking Fearow to assist its fellow pokemon. However, Renamon jumped onto the incoming pokemon, causing the two to collide. The Aerodactyl started fighting each other, ignoring Renamon, safely perched on its back. After a few seconds, Renamon leaped over to Fearow, who had swung around to pick up the digimon.  
  
That left two Aerodactyl. One charged, while the second one hung back, charging up his Hyper Beam for a ranged attack. "Fearow, Steel Wing!" Caryl called. Cawing loudly, Fearow charged the closer pokemon, wings glowing white. At the last second, Fearow flapped his wings, striking Aerodactyl and knocking out the dinosaur pokemon.   
  
Renamon jumped again, fixing the second Aerodactyl in her sights. "Diamond Storm!" The attack struck the last Aerodactyl just as it was about to release its Hyper Beam. Instinctively, it clenched its jaw shut, trapping the energy. The feedback managed to knock out the creature. Seemingly lifeless, it fell from the sky. Crystal felt Caryl get up behind her, and throw something. With a shock, she realized that it was a poke ball. The small sphere flew out, struck the falling Aerodactyl, and trapped it.  
  
"But how..." Crystal gasped as the poke ball flew back to Caryl's hand.  
  
"Prima gave me a few poke balls after I became a licensed trainer." Caryl replied. "I guess Team Rocket never bothered to catch their pokemon properly. Besides, I couldn't let the poor thing fall to the ground from this distance." Crystal nodded, not sure how to respond. Focusing, she guided Fearow to a safe landing on the still-open ramp.  
  
==  
  
Giovanni watched the Fearow land before the screen went dead. "I underestimated them." he mused, keying in an alert code. Logically, he thought, he should leave now, in case one of them recognized him. No, he decided. Those two brats will never get this far. And if they do...  
  
Well, he was prepared for that. He was the strongest Indigo Gym Leader in the region, after all.  
  
==  
  
The first wave of Rocket thugs succeeded in splitting Caryl and Crystal up. Renamon had managed to dispatch one set of attackers quite handily, but several pokemon that were using Smokescreen and Smog were a bit more than even she could handle.  
  
Caryl frowned, glancing down the hall, then at her digivice. There was another digivice nearby, according to the small screen, but she wasn't sure whose it was, or what condition its owner was in. "I think it might be Ryo." Caryl hazarded.  
  
"Wishful thinking?" Renamon asked, allowing a small grin to escape.  
  
"Oh, stop that." Caryl sighed. "Are we clear? I think the signal's about three doors down. This place is huge."  
  
Renamon nodded. "It is. And I do not see anyone in the hall. The room, however, is another matter."  
  
"Do you want to digivolve?" Caryl asked.  
  
"No. I'd probably have a better chance in this form, especially if we're fighting in close quarters." Renamon looked at Caryl. "This will be very dangerous, Caryl." she said gently.  
  
"We're on a Team Rocket airship that's currently in flight, and half the crew is looking for us." Caryl replied.  
  
"Quite. Still, be careful."  
  
"Only if you will, too."  
  
==  
  
Dr. Namba was getting a bit concerned. The strike teams he had sent out had not only not returned, but many of them had not even reported back. Domino was still there, patiently waiting for something to happen. "You are expecting something?" Namba asked.  
  
"Just a fight." Domino replied. Beside her, Gengar waited quietly, mirroring Domino. She normally didn't battle with a pokemon, but Namba, always a bit overprotective of his granddaughter, had insisted. Besides, he always pointed out, Ghost pokemon did usually provide a useful element of surprise in a battle. "That pokemon with that little girl seemed to be very strong. I wouldn't be surprised if those two came through the door looking for Mr. Akiyama." A second later, Renamon burst through the door, Caryl following her. "See?" Domino went on, unconcerned. "Well, I can see why you'd want him back, little girl." Domino taunted.  
  
Caryl reddened a bit. "Let him go now!" she demanded.   
  
"Gengar, take the girl. I'll handle the pokemon." Obediently, Gengar charged at Caryl. Renamon found herself under attack by Domino, who had produced a staff (tipped with a black tulip -ed) and had already launched several darts.  
  
"Caryl, RUN!" Renamon shouted.   
  
==  
  
Crystal and Kurt, already digivolved to Espeon, tracked another signal on her digivice. The situation wasn't good. Kitty, her Misdreavus, and Kirby, her Jigglypuff, were already fainted from several fights with Team Rocket trainers. "Can you sense anything?" Crystal asked.  
  
Kurt lowered his head, concentrating. "Yeah. I think I can pick out TK. I think he's coming to. No sign of Patamon though."  
  
Crystal nodded. "Through that door. We're almost on top of the signal." She was about to call out a pokemon to break the door down, when it slid open. Curious, she went in, Kurt following her.  
  
It was a well-appointed suite. On one wall was a large glass window. Through it, Crystal could see TK, just now stirring. Patamon lay beside him, still unconscious. "TK!" Crystal gasped.  
  
"He is quite alright, young lady." A voice behind her said. Gasping, she spun around. She saw a tall, imposing figure, with a very mean looking Persian sitting beside him. "He is quite resilient, as is that unusual pokemon with him."  
  
Eyes wide, she recognized the man. "Antonio Giovanni?" she gasped. The man bowed. "Why-?"  
  
"Because your friend here, as you are aware, has a pokemon with the unique ability to evolve and de-evolve itself at will. Team Rocket must possess that ability. I have observed your fights on my ship; I see your Eevee has that power too."  
  
"Let TK and Patamon go!"  
  
"Patamon, is that its name?" Giovanni smirked. "You are a skilled pokemon trainer. Join Team Rocket; We could offer you so much more than that boy could."  
  
"That's a joke, right?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Even more fascinating." Giovanni said. "Very well, if you will not join us, then I will have to dispose of you. I can't have someone telling the world where I am, after all. Golem, remove her." He tossed out a poke ball, and Golem, a large, spherical pokemon, appeared.  
  
"Hitmonchan." Crystal said, calling out her Fighting type pokemon. "Rock Smash!" Her pokemon landed a punch on Golem's torso, knocking back the rock pokemon a few inches.  
  
"Impressive." Giovanni said. "But futile. I have bred this Golem to have an extremely high defense. Even a Fighting move cannot beat it."  
  
"Ice Punch!" Crystal said. Hitmonchan's left fist glowed blue, and he drove a blast of pure cold into Golem. The rock pokemon knelt, staggered by the attack. "Now, finish it with Mega Punch!"  
  
"Withdraw!" Giovanni commanded. Hitmonchan's attack landed on Golem, doing little damage. "Self destruct." he said in a quiet voice. Golem glowed, then exploded.  
  
==  
  
Caryl ran down the hallway, black spheres of energy flying around her. Gengar, sensing an easy win, was merely toying with the girl at this point. The two ran into a large, empty room. However, there was no escape; Caryl was trapped.  
  
Leering, Gengar closed in on Caryl, hoping to scare the trainer silly before bringing her back to Dr. Namba. He stopped suddenly. His prey was...smiling?  
  
"Cyndaquil! GO!" she called, releasing the little fire-type pokemon. Gengar stepped back, then started laughing. This Cyndaquil, he realized, was still young. Caryl commanded it to use an Ember attack, then a Smokescreen. Gengar just stood there, unconcerned. Finally, getting bored, he used a Shadow Ball to knock the little mouse pokemon back into a wall.  
  
Caryl ran over, picking up her pokemon. "Are you alright?" Feebly, Cyndaquil twitched. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have had you battle a pokemon like that. Don't worry, we'll find another way out of this." She looked up, and saw Gengar advancing slowly. Furiously, Caryl tried to figure out what to do next. It was too small for Fearow to battle in here, and the Aerodactyl she had caught was in no condition to battle anything. She heard energy crackling. Gengar was powering up its final attack. Instinctively, she clutched Cyndaquil tighter.  
  
That pressure brought Cyndaquil around. Seeing Gengar was about to attack, Cyndaquil squirmed out, and charged at the ghost. Expecting a tackle, Gengar simply waited.  
  
But that was not Cyndaquil's plan. Only faking a tackle, Cyndaquil jumped, and, as soon as he entered Gengar's body, triggered his flame power. Gengar, caught off guard, quickly passed out from the intense heat.  
  
"Cool." Caryl breathed, then ran over to her pokemon, picking him up.  
  
==  
  
Renamon dodged, punched, kicked, then dodged again as Domino continued her assault. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dr. Namba leave, but had no chance to stop him. This girl fighting Renamon was supremely skilled.  
  
"You can't win." Domino huffed between strikes. "I've been trained by the best. No one pokemon can beat me in a fight. Or whatever you are, either."  
  
"I've never given up." Renamon replied. "And I will not let you hold these children for another second!" Suddenly, Renamon jumped, eyes fixed on the glass window that separated her from Ryo and Charmeleon. "Diamond Storm!" The window shattered under Renamon's assault.  
  
The noise brought Charmeleon around. "Where...Ryo!" he said, spotting his trainer strapped to a low table. Just like he was, he realized. "Ryo, wake up!"  
  
Groggily, Ryo came to. "Where." He glanced around, and saw Renamon fighting Domino. "Caryl!" he shouted. "Can you get us out of here?" he asked Charmeleon. "I can't reach my poke balls."  
  
"They're on that table there." Charmeleon replied. "I think...Ryo, hold very still." Inhaling, Charmeleon aimed a very carefully controlled flamethrower at one of the leather straps holding Ryo's arms down.  
  
Wincing, Ryo forced his hand to remain steady, as the smell of burnt leather filled the room. Finally, Ryo gave the strap on his arm a hard yank, and it came loose. Ryo reached over, and undid the strap on his other arm, then his legs. He winced again, seeing the bright red burn on his left wrist. He then went over and released Charmeleon, then reclaimed the rest of his poke balls, lying unattended on a table.  
  
Focused on fighting Renamon, Domino didn't hear anything until a large, clawed hand clamped itself on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw a very angry Charizard staring down at her.  
  
==  
  
Crystal staggered to her feet. In front of her, Kurt, staggering, eyed Giovanni warily. The Rocket leader recalled the now unconscious Golem, and sent out a large metallic beast. "Aggron, destroy them." The giant pokemon charged forward, batting Kurt out of the way. Knocked out, he reverted to an Eevee, still twitching. "Aggron is a Steel and Rock type pokemon. His defense is almost unbeatable, especially now that your fighting type pokemon is out of the way."  
  
Crystal smirked. "Hitmonchan!" she called, taking some pleasure in Giovanni's stunned expression as the fighting pokemon reappeared. "I switched Hitmonchan out so Kurt could block Golem's attack with Reflect." Standing up, Kurt nodded, sticking his tongue out at the Rocket leader.  
  
"Intriguing, but futile. Aggron is still invulnerable. Destroy them both." Aggron stomped forward.  
  
"Fire punch!" Crystal yelled. Hitmonchan darted forward, landing a series of fiery blows on Aggron's torso. However, the attack did little damage.  
  
"I told you. Aggron is invulnerable." Giovanni bragged. "It is a shame, such a skilled trainer being lost so early in her life. Ah well. I-" Giovanni blinked. Was Hitmonchan... glowing?  
  
"Hitmonchan!" Crystal yelled again. "ATTACK!" Roaring, Hitmonchan seemed to blur, then, with a loud slapping noise, reappeared, fist planted firmly in Aggron's torso. Aggron staggered back, and fell down unconscious. A second later, Hitmonchan did the same.  
  
"Super Power." Giovanni breathed. "I've heard of that technique; an ability that focuses all of a fighting pokemon's power in a single blow. But the drain seems to have taken your pokemon out of the fight as well." Wordlessly, Crystal called out Zangoose. "It seems power will not do any good. Now you will see my secret weapon, girl." Giovanni snapped his fingers. From behind his desk, a small furry pokemon stepped out.  
  
"An Eevee?" Crystal gasped.  
  
"Fascinating creatures, as I'm sure you'll agree. They can alter their physical form based on their environment. However, they could only do so once...until now. I think a Vaporeon would be appropriate, yes? Transform, NOW!" Giovanni pressed a button on a small controller he took out of his pocket. Crystal watched, stunned, as the small Eevee glowed and changed into the water pokemon, Vaporeon!  
  
"Shock Wave!" Crystal called. Zangoose clasped his hands together and, slamming them into the floor, sent a wave of electricity at Vaporeon.  
  
"Change." Giovanni said, pressing the control panel. Moments before the attack hit, Vaporeon changed into Jolteon! "The scientists call it Slide Evolution; the ability to change between different evolved forms."  
  
==  
  
Charizard and Ryo ran down the hall, heading for what sounded like a large battle. Renamon had gone on ahead, seeming to vanish from sight. "She must be part Scyther." Charizard grunted. "I should switch back, I can't fly in these halls, and running's proving to be a hassle."  
  
"No time." Ryo replied. "Caryl's alone against all the Rocket thugs on this ship. She could be..." Trainer and pokemon skidded to a halt. In front of them was Renamon, standing over a small pile of Rocket thugs, all knocked out. Two other crooks, slightly sooty, lay in front of Caryl, who was cuddling Cyndaquil.  
  
"Just fine without us." Charizard completed. Underneath them, the floor shook for a second. "I think we landed." he said, looking around. "If we're at a base of theirs, we're in for an even bigger fight."  
  
"Actually, it landed so I could fight you!" A giant robot burst through a doorway, hunched over due to the relatively small size of the hallway. It was vaguely humanoid, and shaped like a Hitmonchan, save that the forearms had long cylinders pointing backwards at the elbows, and the head was recessed into the torso, a clear dome with Namba's head clearly visible. A second tremor shook the hall. "Ahh, that'd be the escape vehicle, carrying our master, and your two friends. If you want to find out where they're going, you'll have to beat me!" Namba turned the mecha around, and punched a hole through the wall.  
  
"We'll have to fight him." Renamon said. "Caryl?" Her trainer nodded, and Renamon transformed. "Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!"  
  
"Let's make this a quick fight, then!" Charizard said, running out after Namba, as did Kyuubimon. Caryl and Ryo followed their monsters.  
  
Outside, the four stopped. "A trap!" Kyuubimon exclaimed.  
  
Domino, still a bit singed, nodded from inside her mecha. "Payback time. You might be tough against humans, but Team Rocket's Special Mecha Corp is unstoppable! Get 'em!"  
  
"Fire Blast!"  
  
"Dragon Wheel!"  
  
==A good distance straight up...  
  
TK came to, and saw Crystal and Kurt being flung back by a powerful attack. He found that he was not tied to the table, so he sat up, got his bearings, then ran to the window. "Crystal? CRYSTAL!" He turned around, and saw Patamon on another table. "Patamon, wake up! Patamon?" The digimon stirred weakly, but did not come to. "He must have been knocked out." Another explosion, and TK heard a loud thump. Turning around, he saw Crystal and Kurt, both nearly unconscious, as a Jolteon stalked them. Giovanni saw that TK was awake, smirked, then went back to the battle, completely ignoring him.  
  
TK spotted his D-Terminal on a table. "I can call for help. All right." He ran over, and picked up the item, but part of it fell off; it had been partially disassembled. "No..." he gasped. "Patamon! Wake up!" he yelled, trying to free his partner, who was held down by a tight metallic strap. There was another blast, and a loud thump. TK saw that Crystal and Kurt had been hurled against the glass wall; somehow, his captor had summoned a Flareon, and was attacking Crystal and Kurt with that. He ran over to the window, began hammering on it. "Crystal! Get out of there!" Forgetting that he was still holding it, he slammed his D-Terminal into the window, further damaging the device.   
  
At that moment, Crystal and TK's digivices started glowing. The Digiegg of Hope appeared, and smashed through the window, then merged with Kurt's body!  
  
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Strabimon, Warrior of Hope!"  
  
Giovanni backpedaled. "What....HOW?" He saw Strabimon stalk Giovanni, evading Jolteon's attacks. Then, without warning, he jumped, flipped over Jolteon, and snatched the controller out of Giovanni's hand, crushing the small device as he did. The Jolteon he was controlling switched back to Eevee, and fell down, as if it were a puppet with its strings cut. "Aggron. GET UP AND DESTROY THEM ALL!" Giovanni's steel pokemon staggered up, and lurched towards TK and Crystal. "Which will it be? Me or your friends?" Giovanni taunted. Snarling, Strabimon launched a kick at Aggron, getting the pokemon's attention. In the confusion, Giovanni slipped out.  
  
==Meanwhile, back at ground level...  
  
Kyuubimon dodged a laser from the mech she was fighting. A short distance away, Charizard did the same. The two digimon were now facing five mecha, and were slowly losing ground.  
  
"Kyuubimon!" Caryl shouted. "Behind you!" She looked around wildly. Shortly after the fight, Domino had pulled back, and vanished from sight. Cyndaquil squirmed out of her grip, and ran towards the mech attacking Kyuubimon. "No! Come back here!" The small mouse pokemon darted towards the mecha, exploding with flames. At the last second, he leaped, and tackled the mech, singing the paint slightly. The distraction did give Kyuubimon a chance to finish the mech off with a Dragon Wheel. "Thanks." she gasped, exhausted. "Now go back to Caryl." Cyndaquil nodded, and ran back to the girl.  
  
Caryl bent down to pick up Cyndaquil, but the trees behind her exploded as Domino's mech ploughed through, and grabbed Caryl, Holding her tightly in one red armored fist. "I suggest you give up, little girl."  
  
"Caryl!" Ryo shouted. "Let her go now you-"  
  
"Ah-ah...No foul language." Domino taunted. "Wouldn't want to warp this little girl's mind, now would we?" Domino raised the mech's arm. "You want her back? Here!" She hurled Caryl away, throwing her right at Ryo. The two collided and went down.  
  
"Caryl!" Charizard and Kyuubimon yelled, then turned and faced Domino's mech.  
  
"I'm fine...really..." Ryo wheezed. "Caryl? Caryl?"  
  
"Mmmm...I don't want to practice the piano..." Caryl murmured, still dazed. "Ryo...that you...?" She sat up, looking around. "What hit me?"  
  
"I did." Ryo replied gently. "Umm...why is Kyuubimon glowing?"  
  
"I have that effect on you?" Caryl replied, regaining some of her wit. "Umm, Charizard's doing it too. Maybe they're about to evolve again?"  
  
It hit Ryo, even before he checked his digivice. "I know what's happening." he said, grin returning. "Just like before, when I was fighting Milleniumon with Ken...Charizard! DO IT!"  
  
Caryl blinked, not understanding. "You too, Kyuubimon!" she added. "Just follow his lead!"  
  
"It's not leading." Ryo said. "It's digivolution." A moment later, Caryl got to see her first DNA digivolution.  
  
"CHARIZARD! KYUUBIMON! DNA Digivolve to...AGNIMON!"  
  
"Cool...Like with Paildramon and Komainumon, right?" Caryl whispered.  
  
"So what!" Domino yelled, driving her mech at the two humans. It stopped a second later, as Agnimon got behind the mech, grabbed it by the arm, and proceeded to rip said arm off. "How...?"  
  
"Burning...SALAMANDER!" Making a fist, Agnimon rammed it into the hole where the arm used to be, and flooded the chamber with fire. Panicking, Domino hit the eject button, and bailed out of her mech seconds before it exploded.  
  
Namba watched the whole sequence of events, stunned. "DNA....Agnimon...is this the true power of pokemon evolution? I must have it! Mecha Corp, attack!" The remaining robots charged.   
  
Agnimon slammed his fists together, then pulled them apart, arms now wreathed in flame. He started spinning, and a fiery tornado formed. "A Fire Spin? How pathetic!" Namba snorted. His confidence vanished a second later when the tornado expanded to engulf all the mecha, and Agnimon's form appeared through the flame, leg extended.  
  
"Salamander...BREAK!" The digimon landed a solid kick on each mech, the backs of the robots exploding off, unable to resist the force of the attack.  
  
When the flames subsided, Caryl and Ryo saw Agnimon, and a lot of abandoned robots. "That's ...so...COOL!" Caryl shouted, running over, Cyndaquil following her.  
  
==Back in the air  
  
Aggron, already injured, fell before Strabimon's attacks. TK helped Crystal up, and the two freed Patamon, still unconscious, then called all the pokemon Giovanni had abandoned into what poke balls they could find. "We have to get out of here!" Crystal said. "Kurt?"  
  
Strabimon nodded. "One door, coming up..." He looked around, and picked out the ornate doors they had come in through. "Shining...NAIL!" he yelled, running at the door. TK saw that Strabimon's hand was glowing, and had to restrain a cackle when he picked out the crest of hope on the back of the hand. A second later, the door was reduced to splinters, and the group made their way to the top decks.  
  
"Uhh..." Strabimon gasped. "That's a long drop...Uh, doesn't this thing have wings?" he asked TK, checking his back.  
  
"Patamon? Come on, wake up." TK said, shaking his partner. "No good. Maybe we can find a control room?" There was a loud explosion, shaking the ship.  
  
"I think this thing's about to blow!" Strabimon snarled. A hissing noise got his attention. Glancing over the edge, he spotted Giovanni flying away with a jetpack. "Okay, the evil villain's made his getaway, now it's our turn." The small vessel rocked to the side. Crystal, unprepared, fell over, sliding towards the edge. TK grabbed her arm, then Strabimon grabbed TK.  
  
"TK!" Crystal gasped. "Let go! I-"  
  
"No!" TK snarled. "I'm not letting you go!" The group still kept sliding towards the edge.  
  
"But-" Crystal tried again.  
  
"NO!" TK roared, tightening his grip. At that moment, the vehicle lurched again, and the whole group fell off. "PATAMON!"  
  
Patamon's eyes snapped open, sensing TK's danger. "Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!"  
  
==  
  
Giovanni landed in a small clearing, jetpack exhausted. He was furious; he had never been so humiliated in his life. Well, he figured, there's no one to connect me to today's events, so I can just-  
  
"Antonio Giovanni!" a clear, bell like voice called over a megaphone. Spiraling, he saw several dozen police officers, all led by Officer Jenny, as well as a familiar woman he couldn't remember the name of. "You're under arrest for racketeering, illegal pokemon experimentation, aiding and abetting known criminals, kidnapping, and assault! Hands over your head!"  
  
Smirking, Giovanni did as he was told. He had lawyers for just such an eventuality. However, the woman strode forward, expression dark.  
  
Prima, Ice Queen of the Elite Four, grabbed Giovanni, Viridian Gym Leader and Master of Team Rocket, by his tie. "Where," she demanded, "is Ryo?"  
  
Oh, Giovanni realized. Her...  
  
==  
  
"TK." Crystal gasped as he placed the object in her hands. "But that's..."  
  
"You should have it." TK said, placing the Digiegg of Hope in her hands. "I think you'll have more of a need for it. And there's not much else I can give you."  
  
"TK." Crystal sighed. She leaned forward and kissed him gently.  
  
"Didn't she have Skarmory with her all the time?" Kurt, now an Eevee again, asked. Beside him, the Eevee that Giovanni controlled rested, as did the Aggron he had abandoned. Both would be turned over to the nearest pokemon center for treatment and re-release.  
  
"Shush." Renamon said, smirking. "That was...quite an experience, Charmeleon."  
  
"Yeah. It felt...better then when I'm Dino Beemon. Looks like you two are stuck together." Charmeleon said to Caryl and Ryo.  
  
"Well, I am cuter than Ken." Caryl admitted. "You did a very brave thing, Cyndaquil. And I'm really proud of that Burning Rollout you did today."  
  
Ryo looked over. "Burning what?"  
  
"You know, when Cyndaquil was covered with flames and tackled that robot? He did it once before too, when we were fighting that Gengar?"  
  
"Oh. That's called a Fire Ring attack." Ryo replied.  
  
"That's dumb! Burning Rollout sounds so much better!"  
  
"It may, but the move is called Fire Ring." Ryo replied.  
  
"Burning Rollout."  
  
"Fire Ring."  
  
"Burning Rollout."  
  
"Fire Ring."  
  
Renamon massaged her head. "This is going to take a while." she muttered. Beside her, Cyndaquil looked at the two arguing humans, and shrugged.  
  
==Epilogue, several years later.  
  
Caryl looked at Ryo, considering the question he had just asked. "Well, only on one condition. You know what it is." Idly, she patted Quilava's head. Renamon and Charmeleon, watching the whole thing, waited, wondering how Ryo would respond.  
  
Ryo shook his head, sighing. "Alright, you win. Burning Rollout."  
  
"Okay. Now I'll marry you." Caryl replied, taking the ring.  
  
Next Episode:  
  
Taking a vacation on a small island, Tai and Sora meet Edward Silver, still looking for Lugia. However, his search is ended unexpectedly when they find Lugia, battling a mysterious dragon pokemon? Why are they fighting, and what is Trey Miller, pokemon trainer and digidestined from 25 years in the future, doing there? Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -   
  
'Legendary trainer to be: Trey Miller!'  
  
(No, I'm NOT writing a Treyora fic. Taiora, yes...) 


	32. Digicross TV Series 31 Legendary Trainer...

==Orange Archipelago  
  
Edward Silver, his partner Penguinmon beside him, scanned the area around an island a short distance off. He was currently on the back of his Blastoise, traveling to a nearby inhabited island that had a Pokemon Center.  
  
"Anything?" Penguinmon asked.  
  
Edward shook his head. "No. I heard rumors that there were some unusual pokemon in the area, and I hoped...wait a minute..." Unconsciously, Edward leaned forward, coaxing as much zoom as he could out of his binoculars. He scanned one area intensely, then gasped.  
  
He saw a flash of silver, then a second flash a moment later. "I think we're on to something, Penguinmon. I might have seen a pair of Lugia."  
  
Penguinmon blinked. "But I thought Lugia was one of a kind."  
  
"Popular misconception. Lugia are very long lived, but there are very few of them. Seeing a young Lugia...that's a once in a lifetime thing." He stopped, looked again. "Wow...I think there's another pokemon on that island...Blastoise, let's go!"  
  
"What's up?" Penguinmon asked. "Should I digivolve?"  
  
"Hope not. If that Lugia gets into a fight, every living thing in the area's in danger."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, Lugia are very rare, very powerful, and very, very protective of their young. And when a pokemon is able to control the weather like Lugia are supposed to be able to, getting them mad is a bad idea."  
  
Digimon Digicross Episode 30  
  
'Legendary trainer to be: Trey Miller!'  
  
Sora Takenouchi relaxed. School had closed for the Christmas break the day before, and she had decided to celebrate by going to the pokemon world.  
  
Not for shopping though; a tip from Davis' girlfriend Melody had involved a very nice island near Melody's home. It had a pokemon center, a small shopping area, and, so far, had managed to completely avoid being on the main tourist route. It also had a very nice, quiet beach. So it was that Sora, Biyomon, Tai, and Agumon had come here. Getting permission from her mom to bring Tai along had been a challenge; it took repeated assurances that Biyomon would be Sora's chaperone, and wouldn't permit anything...untoward happening between Sora and Tai. Sora smiled, recalling the little 'talk' her father had with Tai about what would happen if he so much as laid a hand on his little angel. Tai, turning a bit green, had nodded, and promised to behave.  
  
So Sora was able to relax a bit. She had picked a nice pink swimsuit that Mimi had once pointed out to her; one piece, and had a subtle floral print on it. She stretched, enjoying the warm weather, eyes closed behind her sunglasses, half asleep under the shade of the beach umbrella. (This text-based fanservice sequence has been brought to you by Farfetch'd Productions, and dedicated to the semi-hormonal audience I'm trying to shamelessly cater to. -ed)  
  
A footstep in the sand snapped her out of her light sleep. She saw Tai, standing over her, grinning evilly. He was dripping wet, she noticed, his hair was matted and hanging down around his head. In his hand was a large plastic bucket.  
  
"No...Tai, don't you DARE!"  
  
"You had the sun." Tai said, lifting the bucket. "Now it's time for the surf! Sooo...SURF'S UP!" he shouted, upending the bucket of water on Sora.   
  
The weather was warm. The water was ice cold. As a result, Sora was blazing mad.  
  
==Outside Azalea Town, 25 years down the road.  
  
Trey Miller looked around, enjoying the warm weather. It had been a few weeks since he had left New Bark Town, and all the inhabitants therein. He heard the sound of pokemon. He didn't look; he knew that the Espeon he had just caught was playing with Grovyle, the grass pokemon he had started with, some time ago. Today, at his partner digimon's insistence, he was engaging in the unusual activity of 'relaxing', which he found he thoroughly enjoyed.  
  
"You want to tell them to keep it down?" Dakarimon, his partner complained. The wolf-like digimon hopped down from the tree he was resting in, and strolled over to Trey. "Some of us are trying to nap."  
  
"Right, right." Trey replied. "I just thought I'd let Espeon out, have a little fun." The two watched the pokemon play for a few minutes.  
  
A rustle in the bushes caught Trey's attention. He looked, and saw a small green pokemon fly out, looking around. "Another Celebi?" he wondered. "I wonder what the odds are?"  
  
"Getting better all the time, I'd say." Dakarimon replied. Seeing the two, Celebi flew over, chirping happily. "He seems happy." The small pokemon flew around the two.   
  
Trey had an uneasy feeling. Quickly, he recalled his pokemon. "Remember that story those guys in New Bark told us?" Dakarimon nodded, sensing an energy buildup. "I think it's our turn...HANG ON!"  
  
==Present. Well, Digicross Present. You know....  
  
"Tai Kamiya, you get back here right now!" Sora yelled, chasing Tai. Across the beach, Biyomon and Agumon looked up, saw Sora chasing Tai, decided that trying to kill Tai was an acceptable pastime, and went back to sleep. Along the way, Sora had picked up the bucket Tai had dropped, and had filled it with water herself, intent on drenching Tai.  
  
As he was running, Tai heard something like a howl. He stopped, and looked across the ocean. In the far distance, he thought he could see two...figures fighting, though he could not make out what they were. A second later, Sora dumped a bucket of ocean water on his head, driving the image from his mind.  
  
"So there! Honestly, while I was trying to relax a little. Don't you ever act your own age?" Sora scolded. Chuckling, Tai shrugged his shoulders, helplessly. "What am I going to do with you?" Sora muttered.  
  
"Umm...let me take you to dinner sometime?" Tai hazarded.  
  
Sora glanced at Tai. "It's a start." she replied. A loud cry got their attention, as well as Agumon's and Biyomon's. Two giant digimon exploded out of the water a short distance away. One was a giant silvery bird, sleek and gleaming, the other was a long, green serpent, reminding the two humans of a Chinese dragon. They were fighting each other, with a rage that frightened Tai and Sora.  
  
"I think we should leave now..." Tai said, eyes locked on the two pokemon. His eyes widened as he recognized the giant bird. "Is that..."  
  
Sora looked up, and gasped, recognizing it. "Lugia?" She yelped a second later as Tai knocked her over, just before the two pokemon, paying no attention to the surroundings, took the battle onto the beach, missing Tai and Sora by mere inches. Agumon promptly digivolved, tried to tackle one of the pokemon, got clobbered by the silver bird's tail, and was knocked back to Agumon. Biyomon digivolved as well, but stayed airborne, trying to find an opening to attack.  
  
"Birdramon, don't attack!" Sora called. "Is that dragon another pokemon?"  
  
Tai shook his head. "I don't know! Come on, let's head back-" The dragon broke off, spotting the two humans and mistaking them for enemies. With a brutal headbutt, the dragon shook off the bird and dove at the two humans.  
  
"ICE WINDER!" A bolt of ice slammed into the dragon's head, stopping the attack. Tai and Sora spotted a Seadramon, several meters away, glaring at the dragon. A human ran over to the two.  
  
"Hey, aren't you that guy...arrgh!" Tai tried to remember the boy's name.  
  
"Edward Silver; I was here looking for Lugia when I heard a battle was going on at the beach."  
  
"Looks like you got lucky!" Seadramon called. "But the handsome green dragon's a mystery."  
  
"They're both weak against ice!" Edward said, taking out a pokeball. "Go, Blastoise! Help Seadramon keep those two back with your Ice Beam!"  
  
Blastoise, cannons coming out of his shell just over his shoulders, appeared, and stepped towards the two combatants. "Blastoise! Blast, BLAST!" He fired a pair of Ice Beams, these striking Lugia and forcing the bird back to the ocean. Seadramon focussed on the dragon, doing the same with his Ice Winder. Both pokemon switching between glaring at each other and the digidestined on the beach, they flew away, heading to an island in the distance. Tai narrowed his eyes, wishing he had his miniature telescope with him.  
  
"You've got that look." Sora said.  
  
"Look?" Edward asked. As he spoke, Seadramon reverted to Penguinmon, and waddled over to his partner.  
  
"Tai." Sora explained. "He's got that 'I'm about to do something dumb, like go off on an adventure' look."  
  
"Well, then we should go find out what's going on." Edward said brightly. "Blastoise can carry all of us." Blastoise nodded.   
  
"I'll go on Birdramon." Sora said. "We might have a better chance if one of us is searching from the air."  
  
Edward thought about it. "Well, Lugia tend to travel underwater, but they do come up frequently."  
  
"Alright then." Sora said, running over to Birdramon, stopping to pull on a pair of shorts over her bathing suit, and a loose button up shirt. "See ya around!" Birdramon flapped her wings, and took off.  
  
"Sora, wait!" Tai gasped, picking up a still-dazed Agumon. He watched as Birdramon took off, and started off in the direction the two pokemon had taken.  
  
"Looks like it's you and me." Edward said, smirking. "Let's go. Ever ride a Blastoise before?"  
  
==  
  
The air shimmered, and Celebi, Trey, and Dakarimon appeared out of the portal. Trey looked around. "Tropical island. Great. I don't suppose you know when we are, would you?" he asked Dakarimon.  
  
"Do I look like a Clockmon?" Dakarimon replied sarcastically. "Hey, you know where we are?" he asked Celebi.  
  
"Bee? Bibibiiii!" was all Celebi said, before flying down a path, then looking back at Trey and Dakarimon, expectantly.  
  
"I don't suppose that made any sense?" Trey asked.  
  
Dakarimon shook his head. "Nope. Well, we might as well do as he said, whatever it was he said, anyway. Might be the only way back home."  
  
"Fair enough." Trey replied, following the Celebi. As he walked, he released Umbreon and Grovyle. "No point taking chances. For all we know, Celebi might want us to raid a Lugia nest, or something."  
  
"Yes, and a Grovyle will do so much against Lugia." Dakarimon snorted. "We can't afford to be reckless; for all we know, there might not be any pokemon centers here. They might not even have been invented yet."  
  
"Yeah, but there's no reason I can't let my pokemon gain some experience, oh wise teacher." Trey looked around. "Humph. Beautiful tropical island, all we need are a few native inhabitants."  
  
"Bii?" Celebi asked, looking between Trey and Dakarimon.  
  
==  
  
Sora and Birdramon flew across the water, Tai, Edward, both riding Blastoise, a fair distance back. Sora saw that they were nearing the two pokemon, and that they had resumed fighting. "We'd better wait here." Sora called to her partner. "Any closer, and those two might attack us instead."  
  
On Blastoise, Edward looked at the water, a bit concerned. "Don't fall off." he told Tai. "I know this stretch of water; there's some nasty undercurrents here." Even here, the two boys felt Blastoise's efforts to stay on course. "I don't know how much further we can go."  
  
"I can go." Penguinmon said, holding onto one of Blastoise's cannons. "But I don't think I can carry two people with me. I tried this area as Seadramon once, and Edward nearly got ripped off my back in one area."  
  
Edward nodded. "There are some deep sea pokemon in this area. It's one of the routes that pokemon like Seel and Dewgong take when they migrate."  
  
"Kyle has a Dewgong." Agumon said. "Isn't this place a bit warm for them?"  
  
"Well, down deep, it's pretty cold, and there aren't too many predatory pokemon that live here. You do see a lot of nests on deserted island shores. A lot of the Seel that live in these parts are adapted to the warmer climate."  
  
Ahead, Sora looked back, and saw that Tai and Edward were still there. There was a faint splash ahead; Sora looked ahead, and saw a large splash in the water, just under where the two pokemon were battling. "I think-" Sora started.  
  
Suddenly, the water under Birdramon erupted, and the two battling pokemon shot out of the water, colliding with Birdramon and knocking Sora off.  
  
"SORA!" Birdramon shouted. Tai and Edward saw Sora fall, and surged forward. Birdramon tried to grab Sora with one of her feet, but missed. Sora struck the water, and was quickly pulled under.  
  
"NO!" Tai yelled, trying to jump off, but prevented by Edward. "Let go of me! Sora's in danger!"  
  
"You can't go!" Edward replied. "If you go in there, you'll be sucked down too, and we'll have two people to find. Penguinmon, go!" Penguinmon nodded, and jumped off of Blastoise's back just as his digivolution started.  
  
"Penguinmon, digivolve to...Seadramon!" Seadramon dove into the water. Instantly, he was buffeted by the strong current under the water. He could just make out Sora, being dragged even further down. Grimly, he forced himself to go further down, managing to close the distance between himself and Sora. However, Seadramon was struck by a heavy blow; Lugia and the dragon pokemon had gone back underwater and, in the confusion, Lugia mistook Seadramon for his opponent, and began attacking.  
  
"Not now...I'm in the MIDDLE of something." Seadramon roared, launching a bolt of ice at Lugia. The bird fell back, surprised by the attack. "No!" Seadramon snarled, seeing Sora had drifted away even further. He did spot something coming towards her, and carry her off. He tried to follow, but Lugia kept making attacks. Finally, the dragon darted in, and resumed his battle. Seadramon surfaced, exhausted.  
  
"Where's Sora?" Tai called.  
  
"I think I saw some Seel carry her off." He replied, swimming closer. "I tried to follow, but those two pokemon got in my way." Above them, Birdramon was flying around, trying to find Sora. Lugia resurfaced, still fighting the dragon, and Birdramon attacked them both, in a near berserk state. However, the two pokemon quickly turned on her, and knocked her out with a pair of Hyper Beams. Seadramon shot forward, catching Biyomon, knocked unconscious by the blast and forced back to her Rookie level, and carried her back to Tai and Edward.  
  
Tai looked around, desperate. He wished Agumon could swim; right now, he wanted nothing more than to have Wargreymon tear those two pokemon apart, but that, he realized, wouldn't bring Sora back.  
  
"Tai?" Agumon asked. "What about your digivice? Can you track Sora's location with that?"  
  
Tai glanced at Agumon, then felt the digivice, clipped to his belt. "Thanks, buddy." he whispered.  
  
==  
  
Trey had expected several things; giant monsters, pokemon poachers, attacking digimon from the Dark Ocean, in general, something rather apocalyptic that would require such extreme measures as time travel for a trainer as (in his humble opinion) skilled as himself. Celebi flew around the spot he was guiding them to, chirping happily.  
  
It was not what he expected.  
  
"Well, at least we don't have to fight Devimon." Dakarimon remarked.   
  
"An egg." Trey replied. "Hey, I'm all for helping out pokemon when needed, but this is a bit anticlimactic, isn't it? I mean, I'm not sitting on it." Espeon padded forward, sniffing the egg.  
  
"Adventure rarely comes in the form you expect." Dakarimon replied, smirking. "Perhaps we time-traveled a bit too far back?" He glanced at Celebi. "You new at this? How far are we back, anyway?" Celebi shrugged.  
  
Espeon walked over, sniffed Celebi, than darted over to Trey, yipping, and looking at the egg and the Celebi. "What is it?" he asked. Espeon broadcast a sense of similarity, as if the egg and Celebi were linked. "This is Celebi's egg?" Trey asked. Espeon nodded. "He laid it, or something?" Espeon shook her head.  
  
Dakarimon clued in. "No, this isn't Celebi's egg." He gasped. "This is Celebi!"  
  
"Before he hatched?" Trey replied, also stunned. Espeon nodded enthusiastically. "Woah. Time travel is too weird for me. So something must be about to happen to this egg, then?"  
  
"Makes sense." Dakarimon sighed. "But what? It must be something pretty nasty to have Celebi bring us back here."  
  
Dakarimon's question was answered a few seconds later as the two pokemon, their fight having carried them to the island, flew overhead, exchanging attacks.  
  
"Lugia." Trey gasped. "And...Holy..."  
  
"What?" Dakarimon asked. Already, Celebi was hovering protectively over the egg.  
  
"Rayquaza." Trey whispered. "He's a legendary dragon pokemon. But this is way outside his normal territory."  
  
"This must be why Celebi brought us back." Dakarimon realized. "We'd better move the egg for now; I don't think attacking two pokemon like Rayquaza and Lugia is a good idea." Grovyle scurried over, and pointed to a small rocky outcropping. "Looks like we have a place to hide, for now."  
  
"Right." Trey said, getting a small towel out of his pack and wrapping the egg in it, then picking it up. As he knelt down, he noticed his digivice was flashing. "Hmm?" he wondered. It only went off when another digidestined or digimon was nearby.  
  
==  
  
When Sora came to, she found that she was laying face down on a stone floor. She tried to get up, then started coughing. She spent a few seconds regurgitating a sizeable amount of seawater, then collapsed, panting. "Where am I?" she wheezed. It was dark, hard to see anything.  
  
"Dewgong?" A white figure chirped. Sora nearly fell over, startled, then saw the pokemon. The Dewgong was floating in a pool of water, looking at Sora, concern on its face. "Dew Dewgong?"  
  
Sora looked around again. She remembered falling off of Birdramon, then it felt like an invisible hand grabbed her and dragged her underwater. Before she blacked out, she remembered feeling something swim under her and carry her away. "Did you bring me here? Is this your home?" she asked the pokemon. Kyle has a Dewgong, Sora remembered. He said they were pretty friendly. The pokemon nodded, then dove back under. She heard flippers dragging on the stone floor. Looking behind her, she saw several Seel, also watching her.  
  
Suddenly, she started shivering. Ice types, Kyle had told her once. They preferred cold areas, like in here. Her wet clothes were not helping much. Idly, she noticed that her shoes were missing; probably lost when she fell into the water. By some miracle, she still had her digivice, still clipped to the waistband of her shorts. And it was flashing, indicating that another digidestined might be nearby. "Hello? HELLO?" she yelled. She curled up, trying to conserve as much heat as she could. "Help me!"  
  
==  
  
Tai and Edward tracked the signal on Tai's digivice to the edge of an island. Tai, carrying Biyomon, got off and looked around. "I think Sora's digivice is coming from this direction. I hope she still has it with her."  
  
"I'm sure she will." Agumon told Tai. "It's not easy losing a digivice."  
  
"Hey, over here!" Edward said. "I think I might know what's going on." Tai and Agumon dashed over to where Edward and Penguinmon were standing. Beside them was a large circular grouping of rocks, upended timber, and other detritus. However, parts of the formation had been torn up and tossed around.  
  
"What is that?" Tai asked. "It looks like a nest."  
  
"A Lugia's nest, to be exact. Parent Lugia lay eggs on land, near the ocean. They build nests out of the strongest materials they can find to defends their eggs from predators."  
  
"So?" Tai asked. "What does this have to do with finding Sora?"  
  
"Well, if that dragon lived in this area, he might have seen Lugia's nest as an invasion, and attacked Lugia, trying to drive it away." Edward replied. "That's probably why those two were fighting."  
  
"What if we found the egg that's supposed to be in this nest?" Penguinmon asked. "It looks like there was one here, not too long ago."  
  
Edward grimaced. "Let's find Sora first. If she's on this island, then she's in a lot of danger, especially if Lugia and that dragon come back."  
  
==  
  
Trey looked up, hearing a faint call for help. "Another human, here?" He shifted the egg in his arms, carefully picking his way through the jungle. "Espeon, check it out." Espeon dashed forward. Trey and Dakarimon ducked as Lugia and Rayquaza shot overhead, still clawing at each other. Rayquaza breathed fire, which Lugia deflected. The gout of green fire tore into the ground, some distance back down the path Trey and Dakarimon had come down.  
  
"Okay, I think we've established the egg is in danger." Trey said sarcastically. Up ahead, Espeon stayed by the entrance to a small cave, looking between Trey and somewhere further down. Trey ran over.  
  
"Someone...help me!" It sounded a little faint, but there was someone down there.  
  
"Hello?" Trey called. "Someone down there?"  
  
"Yes, me!" Female voice, Trey noted. Slight stutter to the voice, too. "Can you see any way to get to you?"  
  
"It's t-t-too d-d-dark!"   
  
"Hypothermia?" Dakarimon guessed.  
  
Trey nodded. "Espeon." he said, calling out another pokemon. "Can you get down there, and see if there's a way to get the girl out of there?" Espeon nodded, and entered the small cave. "Good. Hurry up, now."  
  
==  
  
Sora curled up as tightly as she could, still shivering. "Are you still there?" she called, teeth chattering.  
  
"Yes!" the voice came back. "I'm sending a pokemon down, to see if there's a way to get you out of there. Is anything broken?"  
  
"No!" Sora called back. "But it's really cold down here! There's a couple of Seel here too, and a Dewgong." A second later, Sora heard footsteps sliding down. She could make out something moving in the darkness, but couldn't tell what. "Okay, there's another pokemon here, but I can't tell what it is."  
  
"That's Espeon. Espeon, can you light the place up?" The pokemon standing near Sora started to glow. Entranced, Sora watched as a soft glow surrounded Espeon, lighting up the area. "Can you see where you are?"   
  
"There's a pool of water in front of me, and I'm on a low rock shelf. It's a round chamber, I don't see any way for me to climb out. I think Espeon might be stuck here too. The passage he came down looks too smooth to crawl up."  
  
"Does it come out over the pool?"  
  
"No." Sora called, shivering even more. Espeon padded over, hopping into Sora's lap, trying to warm her up.  
  
"Okay. Move back as far as you can from the entrance. Go, Aggron! Use Dig right over there! You might want to cover your ears!" Sora did as told. A second later, there was a horrendous screeching noise, and a lot of rock falling into the water. The Seel got as far away as they could. The Dewgong, coming up on the rocky shelf, stayed by Sora.  
  
After the noise subsided, there was a crash, and a huge pokemon fell through the roof, landing clumsily on the shelf. Its body glinted in the light Umbreon was giving off. A young man came down after the pokemon. "It's okay, that's my pokemon Aggron. My name's Trey Miller, I'm here to rescue you."  
  
"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" Sora asked, recalling a movie she and Tai had seen a few weeks before. Trey looked at Sora, then laughed.   
  
"Let's get you out of here." he said, offering Sora a hand. He nearly gasped as she took his hand. Her hand's like ice, he thought. "And you are?"  
  
"Sora." Sora answered, teeth chattering. She staggered, feeling a bit weak.  
  
"Okay, you're suffering from what looks like hypothermia, so I'm just going to get you out of this cave. Aggron, can you help Sora up? Sora, my digimon, Dakarimon, is going to get you out of the tunnel once Aggron helps you up, alright? Don't let his appearance freak you, he just looks like that."  
  
"I heard that!" Dakarimon called. He helped Sora up, and then Aggron passed Sora up to Dakarimon. The tunnel Aggron dug was at an angle, so it was easy for Dakarimon to help the girl out and into the light. A minute later, Espeon came up, then Aggron vanished, recalled into Trey's pokeball.  
  
Sora collapsed, strength drained. Dakarimon carried her over to where Trey and put her on the ground. "That fire ready yet?" The digimon asked. As he spoke, Grovyle and Umbreon ran over, carrying small pieces of wood, tossing them onto a small pile of wood already there.  
  
"Just waiting for you." Trey replied. Dakarimon nodded, summoned a small fireball, and tossed it onto the pile of wood and leaves. "Just wait here, you should be warmed up in no time." A thought struck him; he took a light jacket out of his pack, and put it around Sora's shoulders. "Best I can do; the only other things I can think of involve your father, a pair of pliers, and a public lynching."(Use your imagination -ed) He said, smirking. "This is going to sound a bit odd, but...what year is this?"  
  
"Smooth, Romeo." Dakarimon muttered, shaking his head. "Very smooth."  
  
==  
  
Tai ducked behind a fallen tree; Lugia and Rayquaza were still fighting. "Tai!" Agumon yelled. "Let me digivolve and fight those two! I can take them!"  
  
"I think he's right!" Penguinmon said. "At the rate those two are going, they'll kill us before they finish each other off!"  
  
Tai scowled, wishing there was some other option; "Alright. Edward and I will go after Sora; can you two handle those pokemon?"  
  
"Piece of cake!" Agumon said. "Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon!"  
  
"Penguinmon, digivolve to...Seadramon! Get going you two!"  
  
"All right!" Greymon snarled. "Break it up! Nova Blast!" The fireball shot between the two pokemon, stopping the battle for a moment. Tai carried Biyomon, and ran off, following the signal on his digivice. Edward called out a Typhlosion, and followed.  
  
==  
  
Sora looked up, hearing the explosions. Squinting, she saw a large blue and white serpent rear up, firing icicles at Lugia and Rayquaza. "A Seadramon? And...Greymon! Tai must be here!"  
  
"Tai?" Trey asked. Sora blushed a bit. "Ah." Trey answered with a knowing grin.  
  
"Disappointed?" Dakarimon whispered.  
  
"Shut up." Trey replied good-naturedly.  
  
Tai came crashing through the undergrowth at that moment. Trey gasped, ran forward, and tackled Tai. "What'd you do THAT for?" Tai demanded.  
  
"You almost stepped on that egg I was trying to protect." Trey replied. "You must be Tai?"  
  
"Oh...Yeah, I'm....SORA!" Tai shouted, getting up and running over. He hugged Sora tightly, clearly relieved to see her again. "I'm so glad you're alright. I...Where'd this jacket come from." Tai glanced at Trey.  
  
"It's alright, Tai." Sora said. "Trey helped me out of a cave I was stuck in, then offered me this jacket and made this fire to warm me up. Nothing else happened." She sighed. "Boys. Honestly."  
  
"Ehhh...hehehe..." Tai stammered. "Sorry, Trey. I guess that's twice I almost clobbered you." Biyomon hopped out of Tai's arms and over to Sora, who picked her up. Dakarimon noticed that Espeon was staying with her too.  
  
Trey shook his head. "You keep thinking that." He replied. He then looked up, saw Greymon and Seadramon were still fighting. "And you are?" He asked Edward, who had decided to stay out of conversation.  
  
"Edward Silver." Edward replied. "Seadramon's my partner."  
  
"Pleasure. Trey Miller. I've read absolutely none of your books." The two shook hands.   
  
"Then I'll have to write better books." Edward replied. "So, what brings you here?"   
  
"That." Dakarimon said, indicating Celebi. The small pokemon chirped, and hovered.  
  
"A Celebi?" Edward asked, voice barely above a whisper. "So...when are you from?"  
  
"25 years in the future." Sora answered. "Celebi brought him here because its egg was in danger."  
  
Trey glanced at the battle. It was stalemated, Lugia and Rayquaza matching the power of the two champion level digimon. "So, Seadramon? Good choice, they're both weak against Ice type attacks. I didn't expect to see a Rayquaza out this far though."  
  
Edward blinked. "That's a Rayquaza? I didn't think they left the Houen region. I never thought I'd see one here of all places, especially trying to nest out here."  
  
"Yeah." Tai said. "We found a trashed nest by the ocean."  
  
"Great." Trey muttered. "Now neither of them will stop fighting. I don't think they'll take well to being caught, either." He winced as Greymon was knocked over by a wing buffet. "Dakarimon? I think it's time we joined in." Dakarimon nodded to Trey, and the two ran towards the fight.  
  
"Aren't you going to digivolve?" Sora asked Dakarimon.  
  
"You know, I've never needed to before." Dakarimon replied. "Someday, I'll find out what I can become, though whether I like it or not...well, we'll find out." With that, Dakarimon jumped into the trees, then bounded in, launching small bolts of fire at Rayquaza, trying to get some of the attention off of Seadramon.  
  
"I have a Lapras." Trey said after a minute. "Ed, how about we double team those two with paired Ice Beam attacks?" Edward nodded, and the two ran ahead. "You two just wait there. This won't take a second."  
  
"But-" Sora said. "Biyomon can help too." She felt Espeon rub against her leg.  
  
"I think Espeon's saying otherwise." Biyomon said. "I'll stay back. If things start to go bad, I can digivolve and fight." Reluctantly, Sora nodded.  
  
In the battle, Dakarimon latched onto Lugia, making several light slashes on its back. Lugia rolled in midair, trying to shake off Dakarimon. This, however, left Lugia open to Seadramon's assault. Dakarimon saw Edward and Trey approaching. He waved, and pointed to Rayquaza, hoping his partner would see him.  
  
"I think he wants us to help out Greymon." Edward observed. "Blastoise!"  
  
Trey called out Lapras, his Ice pokemon. "Lapras!"  
  
"Ice Beam!" both shouted. The two attacks struck Rayquaza, weakening the pokemon. Seeing a chance, Greymon slammed his head into the dragon, knocking him out. He gave the two trainers a thumbs-up, then moved towards Lugia.  
  
Dakarimon jumped off of Lugia, and landed on Seadramon's extended neck. "Pyro Flash!" he shouted, sending a bolt of flame at Lugia. It struck, flaring brightly and blinding Lugia. "Now, Greymon!"  
  
"Nova Blast!" The fireball slammed into Lugia. A safe distance away, Sora winced in sympathy for Lugia, seeing the mighty bird finally give in and fall to the ground, spent.  
  
Edward glanced at Rayquaza. "Okay, everyone, stand down!" he called. "Seadramon, change back to Penguinmon! Lugia's too weak to fight, so it might start listening to us now." Seadramon nodded, and reverted. A second later, Greymon switched back to Agumon as well, then ran back to Tai..  
  
"What about Rayquaza?" Trey asked.  
  
"Not going anywhere." Dakarimon said. The dragon still had ice crystals on its body from the last attack.   
  
"We're not here to take your nest away, do you understand?" Edward said to the Lugia. "We know Rayquaza came here and destroyed it before you could lay your eggs. But you can still rebuild the nest, alright? Don't worry about Rayquaza, he's been taken care of. Just go back to your nest, alright?" Lugia stared at Edward, then the rest of the digidestined there. Slowly, it got up and made its way back to the wrecked nest.  
  
"How did you know it hadn't laid its eggs yet?" Penguinmon asked.  
  
"I guessed." Edward replied. "And prayed, too. If Rayquaza had destroyed Lugia's eggs, then there'd be dragon tartar all over the place."  
  
Raquayza got up, sniffling and glaring. Dakarimon and Agumon marched over, and just stared at the dragon for a few seconds. Then, Rayquaza got up, flew away, and never came back.  
  
"What was all that about?" Tai asked.  
  
"Sometimes, you just have to know how to convince someone a fight's not worth it." Dakarimon answered. "Well, I'm hungry."  
  
Edward was about to say something when everyone heard Trey's Grovyle and Umbreon start shouting. They ran over to see what was up. Celebi, who had stayed with Tai and Sora during the battle, was flitting around the egg, as it rocked back and forth, glowing white.  
  
"The egg's hatching!" Trey said, stunned. The egg glowed for a few more seconds, then it seemed to flare and disintegrate, revealing a small green figure. "Congratulations," he said to the future Celebi, "it's...you." This pleased Celebi no end, and flew to his younger self, chirping as he did so.  
  
"Isn't meeting your past self supposed to be a bad thing?" Tai wondered.  
  
"Nahh. If it happened, then it happened. He's probably telling himself to find me in 25 years so he can make sure this happened the way it's going to. Did. Will have already to happen. You know what I mean."  
  
==  
  
Half an hour later, everyone was back on the beach where Tai and Sora had started the day. "Thanks again for saving my life." Sora said to Trey. "I don't know how to thank you."  
  
"Oh, think nothing of it. We heroes have this thing about rescuing damsels in distress and all..."  
  
"Oh, please." Dakarimon groaned. "Celebi, please get us out of here. I think Tai's about to shoot him."  
  
"Kidding, kidding. Espeon?" Trey glanced at his psychic pokemon, who had stayed with Sora the whole time. "We have to go now." Espeon looked up, then at Sora. She then jumped into Sora's arms. Biyomon, standing beside Sora, blinked, surprised. "Espeon? Do you want to stay with her?" Espeon, eyes sad, nodded. "Well, she is cuter, I agree." Tai rolled his eyes, but said nothing.  
  
"Me?" Sora gasped. "But-"  
  
"She likes apples, and fish. But don't give her milk, it gives her gas." Trey said, voice a little sad. He walked forward, and placed a pokeball in Sora's hand. "Groom her once a week, and make sure she gets lots of exercise."  
  
Umbreon appeared. He barked at Espeon, and Espeon replied, shaking her head. Umbreon dipped his head, the looked up. He barked once again, then walked over to Trey. Celebi flew over Trey, and he, Umbreon, and Dakarimon vanished, bound back to the future. Tai and Sora watched, Sora cradling Espeon in her arms.  
  
Edward looked at Tai. "I'm going to stay here for a while. I think I'd like to be here when Lugia's egg hatches. And make sure she isn't interrupted by any other pokemon who want to invade her turf."  
  
"Yeah. It'll be nice to sun myself for a while." Penguinmon said.  
  
"That's all you ever do." Edward sighed. He waved, then headed for the pokemon center. After about an hour, Tai, Sora, Agumon, and Biyomon went there, ready to go home.  
  
==Takenouchi home.  
  
"Quite a day." Tai said, walking Sora to her home. "I'm going to miss him."  
  
"Trey? Or Edward?" Sora asked. She still held Espeon, asleep now.  
  
"Both." Tai looked into Sora's eyes. "I'm glad you're alright, Sora. If I could have-"  
  
"I know." Sora replied, leaning forward and kissing Tai. "You were coming to rescue me, too. Trey was just there ahead of you. We should find him in 25 years or so, and thank him again." She said goodnight, and went inside. "Mom? I'm home."  
  
"Welcome home, Sora. How was the...Sora, did you pick up another digimon? Because I'm getting tired of finding pink feathers in my sink."  
  
Sora sighed. "It's a long story."  
  
==Azalea Town, 25 years later  
  
Trey glanced through the newsstand, searching for a particular magazine. "Umm...why this section?" Dakarimon asked. "Fashion isn't your thing."  
  
"I know I recognized her from somewhere...A-HA!" he said. "See?" Trey indicated a page out of a recent magazine, which listed a new line of clothing from one Sora Takenouchi, renowned fashion designer.  
  
"Well, I'll be. You were hitting on her."  
  
"I was not!" Trey replied. Since getting back last night, Dakarimon had teased him relentlessly about that very thing.  
  
"You have no idea how long it took me to convince Tai of that." a woman said, walking over to Trey and Dakarimon. She was beautiful, well dressed, and had a faint hint of grey in her red hair. Beside her was her husband, a bit taller than her, with dark hair. Following the two were a small yellow dinosaur and a pink bird. On the woman's shoulder was an Espeon, old but unbowed.  
  
"Boy," Trey remarked. "The difference one day can make."  
  
Next Episode-  
  
Seeking to divert attention away from Metal Devidramon's draining of the Destiny Stones, Demon launches a massive assault on Primary Village while the digidestined are all busy at their homes. Joe Kido and Gomamon are the only digidestined there, and must assist Ogremon in defending the village from the massive army of dark digimon. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -  
  
'Great Defense: Ikkakumon against the dark horde.' 


	33. Digicross TV Series 32 Great Defense: Ik...

Joe looked around Primary Village. As always, it was pleasant here, as if someone had ordered the weather to remain sunny with a few clouds.  
  
"Relaxing, isn't it?" Baihumon asked, currently in his human guise.  
  
Joe looked at the guardian. "Yeah, it is. Your doing?"  
  
Baihumon shook his head. "Nope. Primary Village was designed that way. It's at the center of the digital world, sitting at the intersection of our four respective areas." Baihumon explined, referring to the other guardians. "Ebonwumon and Zhuquiamon just can't appreciate a sunny day. Unlike me, that is."  
  
"Polar opposites?" Joe hazarded.  
  
Beside him, GOmamon winced. "Where did you get that from?"  
  
"You." Joe answered. Feigning insult, Gomamon tromped off, looking for Ogremon. "So, all the guardians help maintain this place?"  
  
"Indirectly. There's actually a great power buried here. That's why all the digieggs reappear here, instead of just showing up all over the digital world. We declared this place to be neutral, but, you know what the Dark Masters did to it."  
  
"Yeah." Joe replied, remembering the sight. A thought occurred to him. "Hey, that hidden power...it wouldn't be a Destiny Stone, would it?"  
  
Baihumon grinned lazily. "Now that would be telling. Just don't start digging around in the center of the town. No, no reason, just don't there's nothing at ALL to find there."  
  
"Don't you take anything seriously?" Joe asked. "What if the Dark Ocean comes here next?"  
  
With a twinkle, Baihumon shed his human form and became the giant white tiger. "Then I get seconds for lunch. So, you're not celebrating the end of school?"  
  
"Nahh." Joe replied. "For the last four years, some of the other digidestined, usually Tai, would invariably try to drag me into some Christmas scheme, most likely poorly thought out, that promised to be great fun, and getting Sora mad at Tai." He looked at the sky. "Come to think of it, that does sound like fun. But I think I'll just relax for now. Nice days like this are rare enough."  
  
"Careful." Gomamon called from where he was talking to Ogremon. "That kind of talk is what usually calls out the giant monster. Uhh...no offense?"  
  
"Grr." Ogremon replied, voice flat.  
  
==  
  
Digimon Digicross Episode 31  
  
'Great Defense: Ikkakumon against the dark horde!'  
  
==  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Demon scowled as the latest reports were coming in. His plan to take over the world was founded on destroying the digidestined, not increasing their numbers. Yet, all reports said that there were several new digidestined, some of whom were native to the Pokemon World. This meant that there would be that more many obstacles to overcome.  
  
"Sneasel, Arukenimon." Demon commanded. Obediently, the two appeared before him, entering the room through an ornate archway. "Prepare an attack force. Sneasel, you shall lead them on an assault against Primary Village. With luck, you should be able to strike while the digidestined are all preoccupied off world."  
  
Metal Devidramon strode in. "What of me, Demon? My power-"  
  
"Is incomplete." Demon cut him off. "While the attack on Primary Village is happening, you and I will go to another Destiny Stone and drain its power."  
  
"We would be done by now if you let me drain them completely."  
  
"To do so would invite the attention of the Guardians of the Digital World." Demon replied evenly. "And we are not yet ready to face them, especially if all four strike at once. Sneasel, Arukenimon, leave us." The two nodded, and vanished. "When the attack has started, we will journey into Baihumon's territory, and drain the stone hidden there."  
  
"What of Primary Village?" Metal Devidramon asked.  
  
"It would be...inconvenient if it were destroyed, but not irreparable. There is a great power hidden there, but it cannot be easily bent to my will, especially while the digidestined and the four guardians still stand. It allows any digimon, even those from this plane, to be reborn there if defeated, but they have a nasty habit of turning good."  
  
"A Destiny Stone?" Metal Devidramon asked. "Then why not attack that one? There are only infants there, barely a challenge."  
  
"Because." Sneasel replied, "Once the digidestined find out about the attack on Primary Village, they will come to its defense, as will the four guardians. Can you face four mega-level digimon, Metal Devidramon? I do not care to."  
  
"This is irrelevant." Demon cut in. "The digidestined are human, and cannot be reborn at Primary Village. Once the digidestined are dead, I can infect the Village and ensure that all future newborns are more...pliant. Come, we must prepare."  
  
==Tokyo, 12:30pm  
  
June skipped home, excited. Her school had finished with a half-day, and she had made another date with Kyle to go see Tokyo Tower. It was already decorated for the Christmas season, and she thought it looked lovely. She opened the door to her home. "Mom? Dad? I'm home!" She stepped in, and saw her father, reading a newspaper. "Hi dad!"  
  
"June, you got out early today."  
  
June sighed. "Yes dad, as I already told you this morning, yesterday, and all last week, we only had a half-day today."  
  
Her father sighed. "Hmph. Probably going to spend it with that Ellison boy." he grumbled. "He showed up here about an hour ago."  
  
June's mother came out. "June! Welcome home. Kyle got here a bit early, there was a bit of a mix up. I hope you don't mind, but I kind of drafted him to help make some snacks for your father's office party."  
  
"Mom." June whined. "I was going to take Kyle to see Tokyo Tower."  
  
"Oh, don't worry, he'll be done soon. June, you didn't tell me Kyle was such a good cook." June nodded.  
  
"Why don't you adopt him?" Mr. Motomiya grumbled, not looking up.  
  
Mrs. Motomiya looked thoughtful. "I don't think his father would approve of it. Although..." she trailed off, impish look on her face.  
  
"Not if I marry him first." June replied, teasing. Both held back laughter as Mr. Motomiya struggled to remain calm.  
  
Kyle stepped out of the kitchen. "Mrs. Motomiya? I'm finished everything, and...Oh, hello June!"  
  
June walked over, and kissed Kyle lightly on his cheek (a gesture that was pointedly ignored by her father. -ed). "You poor dear. Not here an hour, and my mom is already putting you to work."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with being able to cook." her mother reminded her. "It's a shame more men don't follow his example." She finished this with a glance at her husband (still resolutely ignoring everything except the paper -ed). She checked Kyle's work. "Oh dear. Now we have too much. Say, why don't you have lunch here? You must be starving, June."  
  
"Well, I was going to take Kyle to a restaurant I know..."  
  
"Oh, nonsense. The weather's horrible, and there's plenty of food here to eat. June, why don't you get some plates for everyone."  
  
"And I thought I was on vacation." June moaned, walking into the kitchen, taking Kyle with her.  
  
==Primary Village  
  
"Hey, you can't sleep there!" Ogremon yelled. Resting in the shade of an old tree was a large white-furred creature with a black face and tail. Beside him was a small yellow creature with triangular ears and a jagged tail, only a few inches tall.  
  
Absol looked up, unimpressed. His 'owner', Kyle Evanick, had left both him and Pichu here, where they would (he hoped) stay out of trouble while he went to visit the pokemon world (Actually, Casey had dragged him off to another ball-game not two minutes after he appeared in the pokemon center. Poor guy -ed). As far as the pokemon was concerned, this was his spot, and some oversized green idiot wasn't about to chase him out.  
  
"I said OUT!" Ogremon roared. Pichu got up, looked around, and started yelling at Ogremon. "Look, this is MY spot, so out!" Annoyed, Pichu darted over and fired off a respectable spark of electricity, stunning both Ogremon and Pichu. Absol gave a long suffering sigh, and went back to sleep. Annoyed, Ogremon stomped away in a huff.  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Metal Devidramon paced in his chamber, still seething. He could feel his power growing, and yet Demon wouldn't let him fight. All this time, it was just sneak around and cower like (in his mind) some pathetic Grass type pokemon. Arukenimon and that pathetic runt Sneasel had left already, transforming countless Control Spires into expendable digimon slaves.  
  
"The fool." he growled. "Those stupid constructs don't have a fraction of the power I wield. I could destroy that worthless village all by myself." On a whim, he checked the map left in his room. The spire he was draining today was located in Baihumon's territory, but he could make it to Primary Village. And Demon could be diverted if he 'accidentally' got a little too eager in draining the Stone's energy...  
  
==  
  
"At this rate, I'm going to go bald." Arukenimon muttered, casting another Spirit Needle and creating another digimon. Demon had requested devil-type digimon, so she had spent a lot of time creating Devidramon troops, a few Devimon to keep the Devidramon in line, and hordes of Vilemon and Musyamon to mop up any defenders.  
  
"Sneasel, Demon wants you to lead the assault. Don't play around, just level the village and be done with it." Sneasel nodded, looking over the army of digimon now at her disposal. "The Devimon I created are fairly simpleminded and will obey you without question, but they can be left to attack if you're too busy." She looked around. "Watch out for Metal Devidramon. I think he may try to pull something."  
  
"I thought Demon was going to be with him." Sneasel replied, curious.  
  
"Yes, but he's been getting a little too full of himself lately. If he gets too out of line, we may have to destroy him."  
  
"Understood."  
  
==Tokyo  
  
Elecmon poked his head out of the kitchen cupboard. "This is torture!" he whispered to Demi-Veemon, squatting beside him. "We're stuck in here, while Kyle's out there cooking up god knows what and eating it! These humans are too cruel!"  
  
"There's no one in the kitchen now; let's see what we can grab!" The blue digimon scurried out and ran to the leg of the table, where he tried to climb up. "I can't get a good grip!"  
  
"Let me try!" Elecmon said. "That sweet and sour sauce smell is driving me nuts!" Eagerly, Elecmon clambered up onto a chair, then stood on his hind legs. Gently, he tugged on the tablecloth, pulling the plates close to the edge. He beckoned Demiveemon to come up, then helped lift him onto the table. "Okay, grab a napkin, and start passing stuff down! Carefully!" he hissed.  
  
"I'll just get some more, then!" they both heard June say. Panicked, Demiveemon jumped down and scurried back to the cupboard he and Elecmon had been hiding in. A second later, Elecmon made it, just as the door opened. "She probably made that office part story up." June grumbled. "I..." she saw the mess on the table, and shook her head. "Okay, get out here." she sighed.  
  
Shamefaced, Elecmon stepped into view. "Umm....so, how was school?"  
  
==Primary Village  
  
Baihumon glanced to the west, concern crossing his face. "What is it?" Joe asked.  
  
"Probably nothing. Look, I'm going to go and check on something. Just rest here, Ogremon will handle anything that comes up."  
  
"Are you sure?" Gomamon asked, coming over. "Joe and I can tag along, if you think there's trouble coming up."  
  
"Forget it. It's probably nothing, and besides, you're on vacation. Now stay put, and let the giant white tiger digimon handle it. Won't be long." With that, he bounded away.  
  
Uneasily, Joe watched the giant digimon leave. "So, how are things here?" Joe asked Ogremon, who had wandered over, wondering why the guardian had left.  
  
"Eh, can't complain." Ogremon shrugged. "All the new digimon here usually keep in line. Obviously a result of my great skill. I'll bet Leomon couldn't do the job half as well." The digimon sniffed. "Of course, those pokemon are another matter. Lousy ingrate, stealing my favourite spot." Ogremon trailed off, muttering to himself.  
  
Two other digimon approached, both resembling Ogremon, but had pieces of ice sticking out of them. "Hey, you the guy in charge here?" one called.  
  
Ogremon glanced over. "Yeah. So?"  
  
"Arctic Ogremon?" Joe wondered.  
  
"Nah, they're Hyogamon. They normally live up in the colder areas of the Digital World. It's odd, they normally never come here, it's too warm for them."  
  
As Joe and Gomamon watched, both Hyogamon produced ice clubs and ran at Ogremon. Shouting gleefully, Ogremon waved his own club and attacked. "Don't worry; Hyogamon like fighting almost as much as Ogremon. Trying to bash each other's brains out is a sign of friendship." The two watched as several dozen in-training digimon gathered around, and started cheering Ogremon on.  
  
"Should they be watching this?" Joe asked.  
  
Gomamon shrugged. "They've survived Ogremon's babysitting so far."   
  
Hearing the cheers, Ogremon parried one attack, gave a wave to the crowd, then delivered a brutal backhand to one of the Hyogamon attacking him. Not a lethal blow, but enough to knock out a normal digimon of its size and power level.  
  
The first Hyogamon landed, making a loud crack as he struck dirt. "Not bad." he muttered, tightening his grip on his ice cudgel. "But I'm a bit tougher than that. See?" Ogremon's eyes widened as a section of Hyogamon's skin fell off, revealing jet black stone underneath.  
  
"A control spire digimon!" Joe gasped.  
  
"Heh." the undamaged Hyogamon grinned. "Too bad it won't do you any good. Throwing Ice!" A spear of ice flew at Ogremon, who parried it on his club.  
  
"Leave this to me! YEEE-HAAAH!" Ogremon yelled, throwing himself into the battle. 'Pummel Whack!" The purple energy blast finished off the damaged Hyogamon, and a pair of strikes with his club destroyed the second Hyogamon. "That was too easy!" Ogremon crowed.  
  
"Control Spire digimon here? I'd better alert the others." Joe said, heading back to the main building.  
  
==  
  
Some miles off, Hawkmon strolled down a small path. He had decided to go for a walk, having nothing else to do; Yolei would still be in school for a few hours, and Kyle would be...busy with June. He sighed, feeling alone.  
  
"Hey there!" Biyomon called. "What brings you out to these parts?"  
  
"Oh, I was just going for a walk." Hawkmon shrugged. "It has been rather quiet of late."  
  
"Oh? Word is that you've been hanging around Kyle's Pidgeot." Biyomon teased. Hawkmon folded his wings and hmph'd. "Come on, you can tell me."  
  
"She's just a friend." Hawkmon answered, not looking at Biyomon. "I....Hmm?" Hawkmon flew up, hearing a noise in the distance.  
  
"You're not getting away from me that easily!" Biyomon said, following Hawkmon. She quickly reached the top of the tree Hawkmon was on. She started to speak, then stopped, dumbfounded. "What are those?"  
  
Hawkmon squinted. "I can make out...Lady Devimon, and an army of digimon are following her! And they're headed towards Primary Village! We have to warn them!"  
  
"Primary Village? Are you sure?" Biyomon gasped.  
  
"I DO have the eyes of an eagle. Come on! No, go find the other digidestined and meet me there!" Hawkmon flew away, flying as fast as he could.  
  
Biyomon watched Hawkmon fly away. "Good luck." she said, a bit sadly, then flew away in a different direction.  
  
==Tokyo.  
  
"Yes!" Davis whispered, pumping his fist. Although school was still in session for another hour and a half, his teacher had decided to dismiss the class early. Better yet, the teacher for his next class was already on vacation, meaning that, for him and about 30 other students, school was unofficially out. Technically, they were supposed to go to the cafeteria and wait for the rest of the classes to finish. However, Davis had made a certain promise, one he intended to keep, as he sneaked into the computer room, currently unoccupied. He went to a computer, opened a digital gateway, and vanished through.  
  
He appeared in a pokemon center located on one of the Orange Islands. "Hey, you're early!" Melody said, running over to him.  
  
"Class got out early. I guess they figured there was nothing left for me to learn." Davis sniffed. In the back of his mind, he felt like he had forgotten something.  
  
Melody snorted. "Sure, your brain was full before October was half over. Come on, we'll be in time to catch the first set."  
  
Davis ignored the jibe. "So, is this band any good?"  
  
"The warm-up act's like nothing you've ever heard." Melody grabbed Davis by the arm, and led him down the street to a stadium. "I got two tickets as close to the front as I could. I hope you like base!"  
  
"Hey, bring it on! Umm, where's V-mon?"  
  
"He's at the beach, sleeping. Again." Melody sighed. "Honestly, is that all digimon do?"  
  
Back at school, Davis' D-Terminal beeped quietly, as a message arrived.  
  
==  
  
While Davis was headed to the Pokemon world, TK and Kari, also in Davis' class, made their way home. "So, where's Davis?" TK asked. "I'd have thought he'd be tearing the school apart. He was looking forward to school getting out."  
  
Kari giggled. "He said he was meeting Melody. Something about a rock concert." She laughed again, this time at TK's incredulous expression. "It's weird. When I first met him, he didn't seem like the type to...well..."  
  
"Go have a good time without trying to run it himself?" TK supplied. Chuckling, Kari agreed. "Hey, he has changed. I think all of us have, since we started going to the digital world. And since Kyle showed up."  
  
"It's like a dream I had when I left Gatomon after we beat the Dark Masters." Kari said quietly. "I always dreamed that someday, digimon could come here freely, and there were no more evil monsters trying to destroy everything. Seeing the place Kyle comes from...I feel like that dream could come true." She faced TK. "So, how's Crystal adjusting to her new digiegg?"  
  
TK smiled. "Just fine; Kurt's showing off his new form every chance he gets. Now I just have to figure out how to top that for Christmas. So, get anything for Izzy yet?"  
  
"TK!" Kari hissed, looking away. "I'm...still thinking about it. Do you know what he likes?"  
  
"Can't go wrong with a mousepad." TK replied. "His room's not that big, but it's pretty bare. Maybe something for his computer desk? Ah, I got it! I saw it in a store two blocks from where I live, I'll show it to you."  
  
"One sec, I just got a message." Kari reached into her schoolbag and took out her D-Terminal. A second later, TK's D-Term started beeping as well. "Control Spire Digimon?" Kari gasped.  
  
"At Primary Village." TK finished, grimly. "Looks like the trip will have to wait. Come on, we can use my computer."  
  
==Digital World  
  
"Now." Lady Devimon said, as if speaking to herself. In a several mile wide radius from Primary Village, every portal she knew of was now being destroyed by carefully paced Gazimon agents. When reinforcements came, they would have a very long trip ahead of them. She looked around at the forces under her command. "Report." she said to one digimon.  
  
The Bakemon nodded. "From what we can tell, there is only one digidestined there with his partner, the caretaker, and what looks like one pokemon. White fur, with a batwing for a tail. The rest are just infant digimon."  
  
"Good." Lady Devimon answered, dismissing Bakemon. "This will be too easy."  
  
:Do not get overconfident.: Demon's telepathic voice echoed in her mind. :The other digidestined will make all speed for Primary Village, as will any powerful digimon in the area.: His telepathic voice sounded different, as if he were not paying full attention to the conversation. :We seem to have had an unexpected guest. I will be unable to offer further help.:  
  
:I will be ready, master.: Lady Devimon replied, then felt the telepathic connection vanish. She was a bit disturbed; she was still a Dark Type Pokemon, yet Demon was able to talk to her telepathically, her mind as open as a book. What have I gotten myself into, she wondered, and why does it feel like there's something I'm not seeing?  
  
==  
  
"Joe! JOE!" Hawkmon yelled as he flew into the Village. "Anyone, please! I'll even talk to Ogremon!"  
  
"I'm here!" Joe said. "What's wrong?"  
  
"There's a small, no make that a LARGE army of evil digimon headed this way! You have to get the other digidestined here as soon as possible!"  
  
"How big?" Ogremon growled. "Bring 'em all on, I can take them with one arm tied behind my back, just like last time!"  
  
"It's not Woodmon!" Hawkmon replied. "It's almost every Champion level Devil-type digimon I know!"  
  
Ogremon thought about this. "Okay, I'll need both hands."  
  
Joe glanced at Ogremon, incredulous. "Right. Until Yolei gets here, Hawkmon, you'll have to help guard the infant digimon; I think Ogremon the Barbarian's going to be too preoccupied. TK and Kari are aleady on the way, and I've sent messages to all the digidestined I have addresses for. Gomamon and I will help Ogremon." Absol padded over a 'what, you were thinking of leaving ME out?' expression on his face. "Absol, you'll have to help Hawkmon." Absol nodded, and growled at Pichu, standing beside him. Pichu whined for a second, then hopped off, making his way over to the other baby digimon.  
  
"They're coming from the west." Hawkmon said, indicating a direction.  
  
Four years ago, Joe thought, I'd have said that we should head east. "Right. Gomamon?" We could use Baihumon right now, he mentally added.  
  
"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"  
  
Joe nodded, though Zudomon would have made him feel a lot better. He sent another message on his D-Term, but found that nothing could get through. There was no way to update anyone on the situation. "I don't suppose you can do Metal Garurumon?" he asked Ikkakumon hopefully.  
  
"Yeah," the giant furry digimon rumbled, "but you'd have to play the harmonica and be all angsty." With a roar, Ikkakumon charged the enemy, along with Ogremon.  
  
==Pokemon World  
  
Mewtwo looked up, startled out of his reverie. His psychic power had flared up, alerting him to some danger in the Digital World. :Ryo.:  
  
==New Zealand  
  
Caryl sighed, bored out of her mind. The teacher droned on and on, with no end in sight. Due to the vagaries of plate tectonics, while Japan was experiencing winter, Caryl was stuck in some of the hottest weather she had ever known.  
  
There was a commotion as a strange creature walked in. "Can...I help you?" the teacher stammered.  
  
"Yes." Mewtwo replied. "You can sleep." The teacher fell over, sound asleep. A glance, and the rest of the class fell over, similarly silenced. "There is trouble in the digital world, and there is no time for subtlety."   
  
Renamon stepped into the classroom, followed by Ryo and Charmeleon. "Effective." she remarked.  
  
"Yeah, but where were you last week?" Caryl asked. "I had a test."  
  
"I will keep that in mind." Mewtwo replied, voice flat.  
  
==Tokyo  
  
"I'm sure it's nothing." Kyle said to June. "Your parents might get suspicious if we both leave." June had quietly been reprimanding Elecmon and Demi-Veemon when she had gotten the message on her D-Terminal, as had Kyle. "I'll just go check, and if there's trouble, I'll send a message, alright?"  
  
"If you're sure." June answered, uncertain. She had a feeling that things were worse than they knew.  
  
On an impulse, Kyle leaned forward and kissed her. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to surprise June. "I'll be fine." he whispered, and left.  
  
"I'll hold you to that." June whispered back. She took a second to compose herself, then went back in.  
  
"Where's he going?" her mother asked after she had closed the door.  
  
"He got a message, and has to meet some people. It's very important, or he wouldn't have left."  
  
"I know." her mother continued. She walked over and hugged June tightly. "June, I have no problem with you dating him, and neither does your father, for all he grumbles about it. Let him know he's welcome here anytime." She released June and stepped back. "Ah, my little girl is all grown up. I suppose I'll have to look forward to being a grandmother in a few years."  
  
June blushed. "Mom!"  
  
==Pokemon World  
  
"Come on Metronome, CLOBBER IT!" Casey screamed. The batter, this 'Metronome' character, Kyle Evanick assumed, tightened his grip, swung, and struck the ball, the bat making a loud crack as it sent the ball flying.  
  
"Pop fly! RUN!" Casey screamed.  
  
"Is she on any medication we should know about?" Tsukaimon whispered to Kunemon. Kyle found himself wondering the same thing.  
  
"Aww..." Casey groaned, as one of the outfielders positioned to catch the ball. An easy out if she ever saw one. "And we were winning, too."  
  
It would have been an easy out too, if the baseball hadn't decided to do a very un-baseball like thing at that moment. Specifically, it hovered, just out of reach of the outfielder. Paying no attention, Michael 'Metronome' Vaughn rounded first, second, third, and took home, as did two other Electabuzz on base already. Three in, bottom of the 7th inning. Then they saw the ball floating there.  
  
"Umm...is that normal?" Kyle asked. Casey shook her head, confused. They watched as the ball hovered for a few more seconds, then started...dancing?  
  
"I think I have an explanation." Tsukaimon said, looking beside Kyle. Kyle looked down, and saw a small white creature, vaguely resembling a cat and having a very long tail.  
  
"Mew!" Mew chirped. It smiled, nodding to Kyle.  
  
"Hello...?" Kyle hazarded.  
  
==Digital World  
  
Ikkakumon grunted as he launched as many Harpoon Torpedoes as he could manage. "Joe, we're going to need help, there must be hundreds of these monsters!"  
  
Grimly, Joe nodded. "I think I saw Lady Devimon towards the back of the army; I think she's holding back the really strong monsters until we're worn down!" He heard some shouts; off in the distance, Ogremon was busy with a small group of Vilemon, mixing club strikes and energy blasts. "At least he's having fun." Ikkakumon roared, surging forward and flattening a few more digimon. He overextended himself, however. One of the Devimon under Lady Devimon's control dashed forward and brutally slashed Ikkakumon, sending the digimon flying. Injured, he could not maintain his digivolution. "Gomamon!" Joe ran over to his partner, but was tackled by several Gazimon. "Let me go!" He struggled to get up, coughing as the furry digimon pressed down on him.  
  
Abruptly, the weight lessened. "You heard him." Scizor said. "Get off." The Gazimon horde that survived Scizor's first attack broke ranks and ran.  
  
"Scizor! Then..."  
  
"The calvary's here!" Kyle called. Looking up, Joe saw Kyle had arrived, riding Pidgeot. On his shoulder, Eevee sat, looking at the assembled army. Pidgeot landed, allowing the trainer to get off. "Go to the village and make sure the baby digimon are alright!" Kyle instructed. Cawing, Pidgeot flew to the center of the village. "Sorry I took so long; every portal in a several mile radius has been wrecked. And I can't get through to June or the others. Is the one here-?"  
  
Joe shook his head. "Jammed. I only hope the other digidestined can get here in time."  
  
"No worries!" Lady Devimon called. "I have plenty of evil digimon for everyone!"  
  
Eevee hopped down, snarling as he did. "Eevee, digivolve to Flareon!/Flareon, digivolve to... Pyroangemon!" (No blast digivolving here...yet -ed)  
  
"Fire NOW!" Lady Devimon commanded. Beside her, a Skull Greymon lumbered up, aimed, and fired a pair of missiles at Primary Village. Horrified, Pyroangemon watched as the missiles struck the middle of the village, kicking up dirt and shattering several buildings.  
  
==  
  
The portal hummed, and Yolei stepped through. She shivered briefly as her whole body tingled for a second, as her new outfit appeared. It was a fairly simple design, Yolei basing it on Mimi's outfit when she first went to the digital world. The dress was a bit shorter, stopping just past her knees, and the top was now a sleeveless vest with a white tee-shirt underneath. "Not too bad." she said to herself. "Maybe I'll ask Sora for a few tips. Hey, this isn't Primary Village!"  
  
"Yolei!" Biyomon shouted, crashing through the tree. "You have to get to Primary Village. It's under attack!"  
  
"Wh...WHAT?" Yolei demanded.  
  
"Lady Devimon is leading a huge number of digimon against the village, and only Joe and Gomamon are there (No, she didn't see Kyle arrive -ed). Are any of the other digidestined with you?"  
  
"No, Cody said he had to go straight home, and I haven't seen Kari or TK anywhere (Opposite side of the dead zone. Don't worry, they'll get there soon -ed). Where's Hawkmon?"  
  
"He went back to help defend the village."  
  
Yolei frowned. Her first instinct was to go to her partner; however, it would make more sense to go back to the real world and get the other digidestined. But without her, Hawkmon might be...  
  
"Need a lift?" Yolei saw a giant red lizard land. On its back, two humans and a digimon rode.  
  
"Ryo! Caryl!"  
  
"Mewtwo told us there was trouble here, and brought us, Seth, Stuart, Kyle Evanick and Casey here to help out. The other four are taking a different route, hoping to find more digidestined as they go on."  
  
"Just in time!" Biyomon said, quickly explaining what was happening.  
  
Renamon's eyes narrowed. "They've gone too far this time. We must hurry! Yolei, climb on."  
  
"All the days I picked to wear a dress." Yolei grumbled. "Hey, where is Mewtwo? Can't he teleport us to Primary Village?"  
  
Ryo looked worried. "No, he said there was something even more urgent he had to check on." (Next ep, I promise -ed)  
  
==  
  
"Just pretend I'm Crystal!" Kari said into TK's ear. Without a digiegg of his own, TK had to ride Nefertimon, Kari sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist.   
  
"I can fly you there as Angemon!" Patamon said.  
  
"No." Nefertimon replied. "It would be best if you saved your strength. I have a bad feeling about this."  
  
Patamon, resting in TK's arms, snorted. "And you're getting a few cheap laughs out of this too, I'll bet."  
  
"Now, now. Kari knows I'd tell Izzy in a second if anything...untoward happened."  
  
"No catnip for you!" Kari replied, trying not to sound annoyed. "How far to the Village?"  
  
"Another few minutes." her partner replied. "I...oh my...Kari, TK, I can make out a large army in the distance!" Kari gasped, but couldn't say anything. Patamon jumped off, and digivolved to Angemon, carrying TK in his arms. "I'll meet you there!" Angemon called, flying ahead.  
  
==  
  
The portal flared, and Ken stepped through. Like the other digidestined, he had also received word of the initial attack on Primary Village. "We'd better get there quickly." Ken said, taking out his digivice.  
  
"Right. Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!" Ken climbed on the insect digimon's back, and the two flew off. "I'm not very fast, but I'll go as quickly as I can!"  
  
"I know you will." Ken answered.  
  
==  
  
"What did you do?" Pyroangemon demanded, blocking Lady Devimon's attack with his shield. "How could you attack Primary Village?"  
  
"To reveal the Destiny Stone there, of course. See? Can't you feel the power coming from it?" Pyroangemon glanced over his shoulder, and saw a giant blue-black stone slowly levitating from the ground. Around it, a faint blue aura crackled; the angel could feel the power coming from the stone. "I will claim it and Primary Village for Demon, and none of you can stop me! Skull Greymon!" The skeletal digimon charged, but was bisected by Pyroangemon's sword, and destroyed.  
  
"Can you do any better?" Pyroangemon asked. He flew forward again, sword aimed at Lady Devimon's neck.  
  
Lady Devimon barely dodged the blow, twisting aside at the last second. "You'll pay for that! Devimon, merge now!"  
  
"Huh? What are you doing?" Pyroangemon demanded.  
  
"Well, you digidestined are so into DNA Digivolution, I thought I'd try it myself. So, take four Devimon, fuse them into a single digimon, and you get...ooh, let's just see, shall we?" Behind her, the four Devimon glowed and merged together, surrounding themselves in a sickly greenish-black miasma. It exploded apart a second later, throwing Pyroangemon back. "Presenting Skull Knightmon, a combination of Skull Satamon's speed and agility, and Knightmon's attack and defensive power! KILL HIM!"  
  
Pyroangemon landed, and stepped back. This nightmare was a tall, gangly digimon, little more than red bones, held together by tattered remnants of armour. It easily swung a two-handed greatsword back and forth, daring the angel to attack. Tattered wings, patches of rust on them, idly stirred in the light breeze.  
  
"I hope he'll last longer than your Skull Greymon; he wasn't much of a challenge."  
  
The fallen angel smirked. "Oh, one's not enough of a challenge? Megadramon, ATTACK NOW!" Out of the sand, three giant serpents shot out, all aimed at Primary Village. "I will either claim Primary Village or destroy it utterly!"  
  
Back at the village, Joe fought the urge to scream as he saw the three digimon charge at him. With a shout, Scizor extended his wings and flew at one of them, firing a Hyper Beam as he did. It glanced one of the Megadramons' wings, and, incredibly, made it slow down, but the other two continued. Scizor found himself occupied with the one he attacked. The remaining two flew up and took position, ready to launch a missile attack. "We need Arcanine!"  
  
"I didn't bring him, he's back at home." Kyle answered sharply. "And none of the DNA teams are here, either." He kicked one of the attacking digimon as it closed on him. "Ivysaur, Pidgeot, attack!" he called. "I'll try and lead them away from here with my pokemon." Kyle headed off, his pokemon making several attacks on the evil digimon, getting their attention.  
  
"Let me get out there!" Gomamon protested. "Come on!"  
  
Joe shook his head. "Not a chance, you're too badly hurt. We'll be better off waiting here with the other in-training and baby digimon." Gomamon growled, but said nothing.  
  
Joe looked up, and gasped as a pair of digimon broke through and charged right at him. "Joe!" TK yelled, as Angemon slammed into the two, dispatching both with his staff. A short distance away, Nefertimon landed, let Kari off, and took off, going to lend Angemon and Scizor a hand. "Where's Kyle? And is anyone else here?"  
  
"Kyle's over by the east building, with Ivysaur and Pidgeot, so far, you're the only other digidestined I've seen here; I can't get a message through to anyone else, my D-Terminal's jammed."  
  
Kari ran over, Hawkmon with her. "Any word from Yolei? Sylphimon would be really handy right now." Joe shook his head. More shouts; a small group of Tankmon broke past Ogremon, charging right at the children. Kari flinched, knowing that all the digimon were too far away to save them! Eyes shut, she could only hear the sounds of energy blades cutting through the air. Wait a second...Energy blades? She opened her eyes, and saw the Tankmon disintegrating; in front of them, a silvery warrior holding two energy swords knelt, scarf fluttering in the wind.  
  
"I hope we're not too late!" Wolfmon said, standing up.  
  
(Apologies to Endless Waltz fans; feel free to cue up 'Riot of Citizens' from the Operation S Soundtrack. -ed)  
  
"Wolfmon!" TK exclaimed. "Then..."  
  
"Above you!" Wolfmon replied, pointing. Looking up, the digidestined saw a black figure, backlit by the sun, stretch his wings and dive down, claws flashing. "Seth and Stuart are here too, and they brought Cyberdramon. And Caryl and Ryo brought Agnimon, who's helping Pyroangemon."  
  
At that moment, the aforementioned digidestined ran over. "Wizardmon told me this was where all the digimon are born." Seth growled. "Attacking this place is pretty low, even for the Dark Ocean."  
  
Kyle Evanick ran up. "Well, then anything we do to these guys is justified then. Casey's giving Kyle a hand." He sighed as Stuart glanced at him. "No, the OTHER Kyle. Anything we can do here?"  
  
"Yeah. Help me barricade some of these buildings." Joe replied. "I don't know how long it'll be before the other digidestined get here."   
  
==  
  
Yolei grimaced; she was standing with Ryo and Caryl, and was watching as Agnimon dashed in to give Pyroangemon a hand against Skull Knightmon and Lady Devimon. "Is there any way through to the village? I'm useless without Hawkmon."  
  
"I doubt that." Ryo replied. "But none of my pokemon are strong enough to punch a hole in that line; not even Nidoking could get through that."  
  
Caryl sighed. "We'll just have to wait then, I don't think we can sneak through. Come on, Agnimon, the other digimon need us!"  
  
"Little...(gasp)...busy here!" Agnimon called back, ducking one of Skull Knightmon's attacks. "Hey, how about a combo attack!" Pyroangemon nodded, forcing Lady Devimon back with a flurry of sword strikes. "Now! Salamander..." Agnimon started to power up.  
  
"Sacred Fire!" Pyroangemon called, launching a gout of flame. The flame flew over to Agnimon, and was pulled into the vortex of flames the hybrid digimon was calling up.  
  
"BREAK!" Agnimon shouted, tornado of fire enclosing him. He struggled for a second, trying to control the power, then mastered it, the vortex of flame shooting forward and enveloping Skull Knightmon. When the flames cleared, Agnimon was still there, foot planted firmly in the midsection of Skull Knightmon. Neither one moved for a few seconds. Then, the back of Skull Knightmon's armour exploded outwards, the evil digimon staggering back.  
  
"No!" Lady Devimon shouted. "This is impossible!" Recovering, she stared defiantly at the exhausted digimon. "Very well, you can all die with your village!" Lady Devimon cried. "Megadramon, destroy everything!" Still in position, the two massive digimon flew skyward, then dove, claws stretched in front of them. Lady Devimon resisted a gasp as she saw the third Megadramon, incredibly, was occupied with Scizor. His power, Lady Devimon wondered. His power is growing!  
  
"Hawkmon!" Yolei shouted.  
  
Wolfmon and Cyberdramon looked up, and saw the two incoming digimon. "Megadramon!" Wolfmon shouted. "Licht Pfenil!" he called, firing several light arrows. "Stop them before they wreck the village!" He kept firing at the two massive dragon digimon.  
  
"Roger! Erase Claw!" Cyberdramon's attacks hit the second Megadramon, but had little effect. "It's a suicide run! Seth, Stuart, RUN!"  
  
"No time!" Kyle Evanick yelled. All of the other digimon were too far away to help, or not strong enough.  
  
"RRR...NO WAY, YOU FLYING FREAKS!" Ogremon cried, swatting away the digimon attacking him. One of the Megadramon fired a barrage of missiles at him.  
  
"Ogremon!" the infant digimon cried. "Don't do it! We need you!"  
  
"Rrrr...RRAHHHHHH!" Ogremon swung his club, destroying the missiles aimed at him.  
  
"How...Can Ogremon normally do that?" Seth gasped.  
  
"The Destiny Stone!" Joe realized. "He must be drawing power from it!" Dumbfounded, the digidestined watched as Ogremon made an impossible jump.   
  
"Pummel WHACK!" Ogremon called, pulling his fist back and thrusting it forward. There was a huge bolt of purple energy released, flying at one of the Megadramon. However, the digimon extended his claw, caught the attack, and sent it back at Ogremon. "No..." Ogremon gasped, just as the blast caught him, and sent him flying into the exposed Destiny Stone. He slumped down, barely conscious.  
  
"Ogremon..." Joe whispered. Gomamon squirmed free of Joe's arms and ran over to the fallen digimon.  
  
Ogremon tried to get up, but slumped over. "Heh...now I'll never go on that cruise..." he whispered (01 reference 'Ogremon's Honour', if memory serves -ed). "What a bummer..." He passed out.  
  
"Ogremon!" Joe looked around. In the distance, he could see Angemon fighting off two Devidramon, across the way, Wolfmon and Cyberdramon were giving Scizor a hand with the Megadramon. There was a flash; Hawkmon had managed to get through the line, and joined Yolei, enabling him to digivolve to Aquilamon.   
  
Leaving one Megadramon free to attack...  
  
Gomamon tried to force himself to digivolve back to Ikkakumon, but he was too weak to do so. "Joe, help me!" he cried. As he spoke, the Destiny Stone pulsed....  
  
"Gomamon, warp digivolve to...PLESIOMON!" The ground shook as Gomamon, getting out of Joe's grip, ran forward, trying to stop the two digimon, digivolved further than he ever had before, transforming into a giant white and yellow dinosaur, staring defiantly at the two Megadramon.  
  
"Whoa..." TK breathed, stunned. Joe shrugged, helplessly.  
  
"Alright Joe..." Seth said, grinning.  
  
"Shaking PULSE!" Plesiomon fired a massive sonic attack that tore one of the Megadramon apart, and badly injured the other two. Sensing the imminent attack, Scizor, Wolfmon, and Cyberdramon jumped clear moments before the attack struck. Spent, Plesiomon collapsed, becoming Bukamon. "That...took everything I had."  
  
"Well, I'd say it was enough." Stuart said admiringly. "I guess I'll have to start training Monodramon more, so he can do that." As he watched, many of the digimon attacking the village had started to pull back, shaken by the defeat of the Megadramons.   
  
"Funny." Cyberdramon replied. "The ones that survived is coming around for another attack, get ready to-" There was a flash behind him, as a giant bird flew over him. "Who..."  
  
"Aquilamon!" Kari yelled.  
  
Yolei ran over, panting. "I was able to get through after Skull Knightmon was beaten. Come on, we need Sylphimon." Kari nodded, recalling Nefertimon and de-evolving her back to Gatomon.  
  
"Aquilamon...Gatomon...DNA Digivolve to...Sylphimon!"  
  
"No!" Lady Devimon gasped, horrified. Demon's plan had just gone out the window, in only a few seconds...With a snarl, she flew up, ready to attack Sylphimon before the other Megadramon could be destroyed. However, her way was blocked by Scizor. "You again..."  
  
Scizor nodded. "I cannot allow you to go to Megadramon's aid."  
  
Lady Devimon smirked. "You're exhausted, and I'm an Ultimate level digimon. You're not even worth my time." As she spoke, a small catlike creature flew around Scizor, emitting a soft radiance. As Lady Devimon watched, the wounds on Scizor's body faded.  
  
Scizor nodded to Mew. "Thanks, but I'll handle it now. You'd better go check on the others." With an enthusiastic 'mew!', Mew flew off. "You were saying, witch?" He flew forward, wings humming, arms extended. Lady Devimon dodged, and the two fought.  
  
After about a minute of fighting, Lady Devimon pulled back. Am I growing weaker, she wondered, or...no, he couldn't be getting STRONGER! A shout distracted her, allowing Scizor to graze her with a Hyper Beam attack. She floated back, looking at her arm; the leather sleeve was burned off, and the skin was damaged. "No...you're not even a digimon!"  
  
"Neither are you." Scizor replied evenly.  
  
On the other side of the battlefield, Sylphimon darted around one of the remaining Megadramon, the smaller digimon's speed keeping Sylphimon well ahead of Megadramon's clumsy swings. "Now!" Sylphimon shouted. Sylphimon powered up, and flew straight at Megadramon, through his mouth, releasing the energy that was built up in Sylphimon's hands. Sylphimon exploded out the other side of Megadramon, watching as the second threat to Primary Village exploded. "Who says War Greymon's the only one that can do that?"  
  
Cyberdramon flew up, raking the side of the other Megadramon with his claws, and tossing Wolfmon on top, allowing that DNA digimon to hack away with his sabers, unhindered. That Megadramon was heavily injured, flailing in midair. Wolfmon jumped clear after a minute of hacking away, and was caught by Cyberdramon. Wolfmon stood on Cyberdramon's back, aiming an energy arrow. "Licht...PFENIL!" It speared the last Megadramon, which exploded into particles.  
  
"This can't be happening!" Lady Devimon shouted, watching the rout. "I...AAAHHHH!" she shouted as Scizor struck her with another Hyper Beam, then followed up with a Fury Cutter. She fell, glowing and becoming Sneasel again. "This...isn't over yet..." Sneasel wheezed, vanishing and returning to the Dark Ocean.  
  
Scizor landed. "It is today. Hey, is everyone-" the entire Digital World shook at that point, knocking everyone on their feet.  
  
"What...Something's wrong!" Kari gasped.  
  
"We feel it too!" Cyberdramon replied. In the distance, they could make out a bright point of light, glimmering on the horizon. It receded a few seconds later, but everyone at Primary Village knew something was wrong. Badly wrong.  
  
==Next Episode  
  
While the attack on Primary Village was going on, Demon and Metal Devidramon took advantage of the distraction to drain another Destiny Stone. But when Baihumon attacks the two, Metal Devidramon makes a decision that will change the fate of the entire Digital World. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -   
  
'Baihumon's Legacy Part 1: Fall' 


	34. Digicross TV Series 33 'Baihumon's Legac...

==Digital World  
  
Baihumon sped away from Primary Village, face dark with concern despite what he had said to Joe and Gomamon. The Destiny Stones were divided among the four guardians, their way of anchoring the Digital World and preventing it from being rewritten every few seconds.   
  
And one of them was being attacked.  
  
:Need a hand?: the telepathic voice of Azulongmon asked.  
  
:No time: Baihumon replied. :And your power is still limited in the Digital World. Besides, I can handle Demon and his little pet.:  
  
:Don't be so sure,: Azulongmon replied, worried, :Metal Devidramon's power is growing. And your power isn't that much greater. All the guardians have lost a lot of their strength.:  
  
:It's handled.: Baihumon replied. :You keep an eye on your sector. There's no telling if those two might skip over if I'm detected.:  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 32 -  
  
'Baihumon's Legacy 1: Fall'  
  
==  
  
"Careful!" Demon snarled, watching Metal Devidramon absorb the power of the giant Destiny Stone. The diamond-shaped object had been uncovered easily enough, Demon clearing the small hill that hid it from view. Several of his minions were patrolling the surrounding area, watching for any intruders. He glanced uneasily at Metal Devidramon, barbed tail buried into the Destiny Stone, the digimon draining the power out of it. "Too fast and you might be detected."  
  
"What of it?" Metal Devidramon asked. "The Guardians are no match for...us, 'Master'. You yourself said that their power had decreased since the battle against the four Dark Masters."  
  
"Where there are Guardians, digidestined usually follow." Demon replied. "And once the attack on Primary Village is repelled, they will come here."  
  
"Do you fear this stone?" Metal Devidramon asked.  
  
Demon's eyes narrowed. "That stone anchors this part of the digital world down. Destroy it, and you could destroy everything for miles around, yourself included." Demon looked up. "The attack has begun. Hurry. I expect Lady Devimon will lose soon."  
  
Metal Devidramon glanced at Demon. "Then send me. I can crush them all and take the stone there." Demon's glare was answer enough.  
  
"Master!" a Gizamon yelled, running to the two. "A large white tiger approaches! It might be Baihumon!"  
  
Demon nodded. "He's alone?" Gizamon nodded. "Good. He may not suspect Metal Devidramon's full power. I will deal with our visitor."  
  
==  
  
Baihumon tore through the grass, feeling oddly at peace. Heavens, he wondered. When was the last time I ran like this? He shook his head, remembering...  
  
==  
  
"I have you now!" Baihumon roared, extended claws reaching for the giant metal dinosaur. "I won't let you destroy the rest of the Digital World!" Nearby, Baihumon could sense the other guardians fighting the three other digimon that had attacked. They called themselves the Dark Masters, and were more powerful than anything he had ever seen.  
  
Machinedramon's right arm swung up, but missed Baihumon, allowing the tiger digimon to tear into the Dark Master's side. One of the cannons on its back stopped humming, some sort of vile fluid leaking from a severed hose. "I'll tear your digicore apart for that!" Machinedramon snarled.  
  
"And I'll slice you up like an onion." Baihumon replied, baring his teeth. He gasped as a dagger sank into his back, as Piedmon sailed by, dodging claw strikes from Zhuquiamon, the phoenix digimon of the south.  
  
With a sick feeling, Baihumon realised that the battle was turning against the four guardians. Piedmon's attack had hit a critical area, and he could feel his strength leaving him. Piedmon had wrapped Zhuquiamon up in some sort of cloth net, while Metal Seadramon blasted Ebonwumon, the two-headed turtle of the north, into unconciousness. A part of Baihumon marvelled at the power that could even affect Ebonwumon though his almost indestructible shell.  
  
The distraction was fatal. Machinedramon was able to get his working cannon into position, and Baihumon saw a bright flash of orange, then saw nothing for a long time.  
  
==  
  
Azulongmon, hovering in the skies above his destiny stone, looked east. He was tempted to telepathically call Baihumon again, when a sudden wrenching sickness hit him. "Primary Village? They wouldn't DARE!" Snarling, he charged forward, but stopped a second later as a black field of energy struck him. Looking down, he saw Arukenimon look up, wave at the guardian, and vanish, leaving a Control Spire behind. He focussed his powers, searching for someone to help. :Come. Come quickly!: Unknown to him, the other two guardians were facing similar troubles, and also trying to summon help from other digimon in the area.  
  
Azulongmon, however, had a specific being in mind...  
  
==  
  
The firebolt jolted Baihumon out of his reverie. "You're slipping, cat." Demon taunted. "I can remember when you would have sensed my attack whole seconds before I even launched it."  
  
"I am old, Demon, but I can still bite your head off. And what's with the robe? Liver spots?" Baihumon ran forward, power building up around his teeth and claws.  
  
"These robes hide my true power. But I do not think I will need it to battle you. Chaos Flare!" Baihumon dodged the attack, firing a bolt of power from his mouth. Demon blocked that bolt, and hurled another fireball.  
  
Baihumon dodged this, then jumped at Demon, claws extended. He crashed into Demon, and the two slammed into the ground. Baihumon tried to bite Demon's head off, but he couldn't get the evil digimon into position. Angered, Demon started growing, until he was double his normal size, and was able to fling Baihumon off. "Now to settle this, Baihumon."  
  
==  
  
Metal Devidramon listened to the battle, his own senses heightened enough to follow it in detail. Part of him screamed to join the battle. I can do this, he decided. All I have to do is...eh?  
  
Squinting, Metal Devidramon suddenly picked out a small black object around his tail. "A...control ring? Demon expects to control me with THAT?" Angrily, he started to draw more power from the stone, but found he couldn't. The ring was somehow limiting the amount of power he could draw. "Clever." Metal Devidramon snarled. "But I am no mere digimon to be controlled!" Screaming with rage, he swung his claw down, but the ring repelled the attack.  
  
==  
  
"Your charge is...anxious, Demon." Baihumon taunted.  
  
"He is easily controlled." Demon replied, as the two exchanged attacks. "I am no fool, Baihumon. Metal Devidramon is a tool, just like Lady Devimon, just like the Dark Masters, and just like you."  
  
==The past  
  
Baihumon's consciousness floated through the black nothingness he and the other guardians had been abolished to. They got glimpses of the Digital World, and wept at the damage wrought as the Dark Masters rampaged through the Digital World unchecked. Azulongmon almost gave up when Piedmon led the attack on the secret lab which held eight specially chosen digimon, after destroying the other lab, one of the crests there, and one of the digieggs. It was Gennai's brave actions that saved the project from total ruin.  
  
Then Baihumon decided to stretch his senses in a different direction. After an indeterminate time, he picked out voices, sounds...Leaning closer, he saw...digimon? No, not digimon, but creatures like them! And humans with them, living in peace! Many of the humans there had similar qualities to the children they had selected. If this plan did not work, this new world might provide an alternate means of salvation.  
  
Then, disaster. Devimon escaped through the hole Baihumon had opened. But, he was stopped by a human and a...'pokemon', these creatures were called.  
  
The guardians all felt hope at this.  
  
==Present  
  
Azulongmon watched as the creature he teleported in worked. "Your powers have grown greatly."  
  
"It was through Baihumon's tutelage that this is so." Mewtwo replied. He frowned as he launched another Hyper Beam, smashing another spire. "He has something planned for me, though I have not been able to divine what it is yet."  
  
The giant digimon nodded. "Since our release, he has been acting strangely. When this is over, I'll have to ask him."  
  
==  
  
Metal Devidramon tried to calm his breathing. All his attempts to destroy the control ring had failed; it had not even been scratched, despite all the claw strikes and energy beams he had thrown at it.  
  
He hated it, and hated Demon. He hated being controlled. And he knew only one answer, one he knew that Demon could not have possibly counted on. "I am a warrior." he growled. "All my life, I have fought. And no one, human or digimon, shall ever control me. RRRRAAARRRR!" screaming at the top of his lungs, he raised his arm, claws extended, and brought them down, severing his own tail just shy of the control ring. Driven by pain, he turned, and sunk his claws into the Destiny Stone, drawing the full power of the stone into himself.  
  
Demon, distracted by Baihumon's attempt to bite his arm off, looked up. "What have you done?" He didn't notice it, but Baihumon's face went calm.  
  
"I understand." Baihumon whispered, just as the world went white.  
  
==Past  
  
Baihumon desperately tried to find a way to get out. One of the digidestined had gone back to his homeworld, and the other children had scattered, easy prey for even the weakest of the Dark Masters' minions. The Pokemon world, he realised. I can call another trainer like Ryo and he can help. Eagerly, he ran forward, trying to force open a portal.  
  
As he did, his mind reached out, and touched a small, fairylike pokemon. It looked up, confused by the alien presence trying to reach out to it. Instinctively, Celebi timeported. And nearly managed to take a part of Baihumon's mind with it.  
  
As it was, Baihumon's exposure to Celebi's timetravel power nearly drove him insane. In a split second, he saw life, death, hope, loss, and love. He saw the Dark Masters defeated. And three worlds united to fight the author of this current nightmare. And he saw...  
  
==Present, Primary Village.  
  
Scizor landed. "It is today. Hey, is everyone-" the entire Digital World shook at that point, knocking everyone to their feet.  
  
"What...Something's wrong!" Kari gasped.  
  
"We feel it too!" Cyberdramon replied. In the distance, they could make out a bright point of light, glimmering on the horizon. It receded a few seconds later, but everyone at Primary Village knew something was wrong. Badly wrong. Seth was about to suggest they get Joe back here, having just left for the Pokemon World to have Gomamon healed.  
  
"That was..." TK gasped, looking up. "What was that?" In the distance, he heard a great cry, a roar of something powerful. And evil.  
  
"Kari, Yolei, get to cover!" Sylphimon said, motioning the two to one of the buildings that was still standing.  
  
"Agnimon?" Caryl asked. Then, she gasped. "You're shaking?"  
  
"Can't you feel it?" Agnimon replied. "Ryo, get Caryl out of here!" Caryl started to protest, but Ryo clamped a hand over her mouth and began dragging her away.  
  
"You're not getting rid of us that easily!" Stuart said. "What's going on?"  
  
"I AM!" a great voice proclaimed, sending tremors through the ground. Suddenly, a great black and gold monster appeared, serpentine head regarding the inhabitants of Primary Village coldly. "Behold your death."  
  
Kari stepped back, terrified. "Who are you?"  
  
"Imperialdramon..." Cyberdramon gasped, drawing on Wizardmon's knowledge. "But this can't be! He was a heroic digimon! All the legends-"  
  
"The legends lie. This is the truth. I am Imperialdramon, your destroyer! MEGA DEATH!" Soaring up, The evil dragon fired a single sphere of dark energy.  
  
"You will not succeed!" Baihumon roared, trying to block the attack with his own power bolt. The shot deflected, and shattered a mountain a short distance away. "I'll fight you to the last breath!"  
  
"Very well." Imperialdramon said. "Positron...LASER!" A long bolt of energy stabbed out at Baihumon, who again blocked it. However, the force of the beam was slowly pushing Baihumon back towards the destiny stone in the centre of Primary Village.  
  
"Everyone! Help him!" Kyle shouted. All of the digimon and pokemon there added their power to Baihumon's, trying to push Imperialdramon's own beam back.  
  
"It's not enough!" Pyroangemon gasped, seeing the energy beam still advance. Abruptly, he flew up, and launched an attack at Imperialdramon. "Sacred Fire!" The flames covered the dragon, but had little effect. "Alright, let's try the direct approach! Atom Force!" he yelled, swooping down on Imperialdramon, sword fully charged with energy. He swung at the cannon, hoping to break the attack off. There was a sharp cracking noise, but it was Pyroangemon's sword that shattered!  
  
"No..." Kyle gasped. He watched as the angel was struck by Imperialdramon's long tail, whipping up over his back, scorpion like, and sending Pyroangemon back, and leaving him open for an awkward claw swipe, this one ruining the angel's shield. A second swipe sent him to the ground, reverting to Eevee as he hit the ground. Kyle ran over, picked up the fallen pokemon, and ran back to where the other humans were.  
  
"Not good." Stuart muttered, glaring at the giant dragon. "We'd better get the infant pokemon out of here."  
  
"How?" Yolei asked. "I don't think that monster's going to let us go!"  
  
"Hey, don't you have an Onix?" Ryo asked Kyle, who nodded. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Renamon vanish through a digiport, carrying Caryl. "Good. THe ground here's pretty stable, have Onix dig a tunnel through to just past the lake; the Infant digimon can hide there." Kyle nodded, and released Onix, ordering him to dig a tunnel and take the baby digimon to safety.   
  
Kyle Evanick glanced at Absol and Pichu. "You two, go with them." Pichu started complaining, running over and latching onto Evanick's leg. "Pichu, go. Absol, drag him if you have to." Nodding, Absol padded over, picked up Pichu by its tail, and walked over to the tunnel that Onix was digging, ignoring the small sparks Pichu was releasing. Kyle and Ryo released the rest of their pokemon, sending them through the tunnel as well, both to make sure there was no collapse, and to help handle the terrified baby digimon.  
  
There was a cry from the digimon still outside. Instinctively, the humans ran out, to see what was happening. Imperialdramon had, apparently, stopped his attack and was starting to pull back. "What's he doing?" Seth asked, confused.  
  
"I...I don't know." Baihumon gasped, exhausted by the effort he had just given. "I think he...GET DOWN!"  
  
==  
  
Ken and Stingmon flew towards Primary Village. "I'm sorry Ken. I'm not too fast a flyer-"  
  
"Forget it." Ken replied. "It's not like you could help what you digivolved into. But I can just make out...what is that?" Ken gasped at the sight of Imperialdramon, flying up and launching a giant sphere of energy at Primary Village. Stingmon stopped, stunned by the power Imperialdramon showed.  
  
A split second before the bolt hit, Ken picked out a small white creature (Baihumon?), glowing white with energy, jump and intercept the blast.   
  
==  
  
Imperialdramon regarded the prone humans and digimon impassively. Not bad for one shot, he decided. He heard a faint buzzing noise, and saw Stingmon in the distance. "I'll finish with you in a second, bug." he taunted, then reared up, ready to finish off the village.  
  
Azulongmon's head rammed into Imperialdramon, sending the dragon flying. "Not if I finish you first, monster!" the guardian roared, almost berserk with rage. A bolt of energy smacked into Imperialdramon from the other side. Mewtwo had appeared on the other side of the dragon, also glowing with stored energy. The pokemon said nothing, but looked ready to battle.  
  
"Hmm. That overgrown cat was no challenge." Imperialdramon leered at Azulongmon, ignoring Mewtwo entirely.  
  
"One guardian, perhaps." Mewtwo said quietly. "But what of three?" More cries of anger and rage. From the north, a giant two headed turtle stormed towards Primary Village, a ring of digicores surrounding the trees on its back. From the south, a giant red bird, with her own ring of digicores, flew gracefully towards Imperialdramon, licks of flame trailing behind her. "Can you defeat Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, and Zhuquiamon all at once?"  
  
Imperialdramon looked at the three remaining guardians, leer turned to a frown. "You may have won this round, but you cannot be everywhere. We will meet again." Imperialdramon vanished. Mewtwo looked down at the humans and digimon in the ruined village.  
  
"Get them to safety." Azulongmon said. "We will guard Primary Village."  
  
==Dark Ocean.  
  
Imperialdramon appeared over the palace, and landed on the large balcony, which creaked alarmingly under his weight. "So, you've returned." Demon said evenly. "Impressive, though not exactly what I had planned."  
  
"I knew that the stone's power could be better used." Imperialdramon replied. "I have absorbed the full power of the stone, rather than just nibbling away at it. It seems your 'plans' were not aggressive enough."  
  
"And yours were? I know that you still cannot face the remaining guardians, even with your vaunted might." As Demon spoke, Arukenimon and Sneasel crept forward, gasping at the new digimon before them. "Interesting, that you have taken the form of a legendary dragon digimon. And what will you do with your new power?"  
  
"This." Imperialdramon replied, firing his Positron Laser at Demon. There was a bright flash, and, when Arukenimon could see again, there was no trace of Demon. Imperialdramon laughed, shimmered, and switched back to Metal Devidramon. "Now, what shall I do with you?"  
  
"Stand still while I slice you open!" Sneasel yowled, becoming Lady Devimon and attacking. She got to within an inch of Metal Devidramon before getting flung away by his power.  
  
"Pathetic. Now, for you." Metal Devidramon said, darting over to Arukenimon. His clawed hand reached out, and Arukenimon flinched, expecting an attack. Instead, she felt a hard tug and something metallic breaking. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Metal Devidramon was holding a small necklace with a sphere at one end. "A pokeball. Hmm, I wonder what's inside of it."  
  
"No, DON'T!" Arukenimon half-screamed as Metal Devidramon's clawed hand pressed the release button. Arukenimon remembered all too well how she had received the trinket. Demon, after nearly incinerating her 'partner' Mummymon, had placed the remains of that digimon in a pokeball and given it to her as a reminder of his power. For a second, nothing happened. Then the ball opened, and a digimon emerged. It vaguely resembled Mummymon, but the ribbons that remained were tattered, and the digimon had an ornate head-dress on. "Mu...Mummymon?"  
  
The digimon looked up, insane grin on its face. "Arukenimon...my sweet. Don't you recognise me? I've become stronger now..." The digimon stepped towards Arukenimon, arms outstretched.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you two to get reacquainted." Metal Devidramon said casually. "I have an invasion to plan." With that, he stepped back onto the balcony, became Imperialdramon, and flew off, senses extended. He had troops to find, after all.  
  
==Pallet Town  
  
"Kari? Kari!" Kari slowly came to, hearing someone familiar calling her name. Eyes opening, she saw that it was Izzy, standing over her, clearly worried about her.  
  
"Izzy...?" Kari started to get up, then winced as a small stab of pain went through her wrist. "What happened?"  
  
"Mewtwo told us about Imperialdramon." Izzy said. "It was he that brought everyone here, to Professor Oak's place. Everyone else is here too, except for Davis and Melody." He looked up, smiling a bit as he heard June telling Kyle that he'd better bring her along next time, or else. "Salamon's right beside you." Kari looked down and saw the small rookie digimon. "All of the digimon that were at Primary Village are in bad shape."  
  
"Where's everyone else?" Kari asked. Beside her, Salamon was curled up on the bed, resting.   
  
"Kyle's in the other room, with June yelling at him, Caryl's doing the same with Ryo, Kyle Evanick's with Casey, making sure no one gets near her, TK's resting in the living room with Crystal watching him, and Seth and Stuart are in the kitchen, brooding with their digimon. Yolei left to go get Davis, and Ken's going after Cody. Everyone's digimon survived, but they're in no condition to handle a second attack like that."  
  
"The kitchen?" Kari asked, trying to take all this in.  
  
Tentomon, who had been checking on Salamon, looked up. "Wizardmon got turned back into Candlemon. When he woke up, he nearly set Professor Oak's study on fire. Tracey, he's Professor Oak's assistant, he's checking on Eevee outside."  
  
"What about Baihumon?"  
  
"He...took the brunt of the blast. If it wasn't for him, none of you would have...made it."  
  
"Davis?" Kari looked around, wondering why Davis hadn't been there at Primary Village.  
  
  
  
"He probably forgot his D-Terminal at school." Salamon groaned, staggering to her feet. "Typical, really."  
  
==  
  
Scizor and Mewtwo looked at Baihumon, now in his human form. "How is he?" the bug pokemon asked.  
  
"I have used all my powers, but Baihumon's injuries are still severe. In time, he might recover. But I fear we do not have time. Imperialdramon may attack again. I have asked Yolei and Ken to go get Davis and Melody. None of the other DNA teams are able to fight right now."  
  
"Yolei?" Scizor asked.  
  
"She can be...quite persuasive." Mewtwo replied, with a faint trace of humour. He looked up. "Our time grows short indeed."  
  
==  
  
Over the ocean, near the Kanto coastline, there was a huge ripple in the air. Imperialdramon surged through the opening, a large silvery dome on his back. "I have come," he intoned, "to finish what I started. This world, and the Human world, will be torn apart by my hands! ATTACK!" As he said this, he landed, and the dome vanished, releasing scores of evil digimon of varying types and levels, all evil. "Find the one called Mewtwo and bring him to me! He is the only threat to me now. Destroy anything between you and your target!"  
  
Next Episode  
  
Digimon and Pokemon unite to battle Imperialdramon's invasion, while it falls to Komainumon to hold off Imperialdramon while Davis and Cody are found and brought back. Next time on Digimon: Digicross:  
  
'Baihumon's Legacy 2: The Guardian's choice.' 


	35. Digicross TV series 34 'Baihumon's Legac...

Imperialdramon reverted to Metal Devidramon as he landed, watching the forces he had brought with him from the Dark Ocean charge ahead. "Fools." he muttered. "Once the remaining digidestined are finished with this lot, they'll be too weak to fight me." He grimaced suddenly, dropping to one knee. "Not now..." he growled. "I can master this power..."  
  
=====  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 33  
  
'Baihumon's Legacy 2: The Guardian's choice.'  
  
=====  
  
Kyle opened his eyes, somewhat surprised he was still able to. He could see that someone was leaning over him, but he couldn't tell who it was.  
  
"Why is it," June asked, "that you keep winding up in bed when I come visit?" Without another word, she put her arms around him, relieved that he had woken up.  
  
After a minute, they broke apart. "What happened?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Mewtwo was able to bring you here, along with everyone else. The rest of us came as soon as we could. Yolei's gone to get Davis, and Ken left to get Cody." Kyle nodded. "What happened to you?"  
  
"It was Metal Devidramon. While we were defending Primary Village, Demon took him to another Destiny Stone. Somehow, Metal Devidramon was able to turn himself into a digimon called Imperialdramon. That's when...Eevee!" he gasped.  
  
"He's at the pokemon centre in Stone Town." As she spoke, Growlithe jumped on the bed, face grim.  
  
"Leave you alone for a second..." the pokemon grumbled. "So, Dragon type digimon?"  
  
"He blasted Primary Village with one shot. I think Baihumon managed to block the shot. Is he...?" Kyle trailed off as he saw June's expression fall.  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Word of Demon's defeat spread quickly. With that digimon gone, the other digimon quickly started battling each other, eager for power. Except for three digimon, that is.  
  
"Arukenimon...my sweet..." Murmuxmon murmured, trudging through the halls. More of the old bandaging had fallen away, revealing Mummymon's bluish skin and vaguely reptilian body. Arukenimon had caught sight of him vaporising one digimon with a wave of his hand, and decided it was time to flee the deranged mega digimon. Sneasel had gone with Arukenimon, telling herself that Arukenimon knew the castle better.  
  
"Arukenimooon..." Murmuxmon called softly. "It is quite alright. I forgive you for betraying me to Demon, and for all those things you said about me. Please, let me show my... affection..." He looked around. "I heard everything. All those years close to your heart, and Demon made sure that I could hear everything you said, feel everything you felt...please, come to me."  
  
"I can take him." Sneasel growled.  
  
"No, you can't." Arukenimon replied. "Whatever happened to Mummymon has obviously increased his powers. But please, feel free to go ahead and battle him; it'll give me time to escape." Sneasel glanced at Arukenimon, but said nothing. "That's better. Now stop acting like an idiot and move. There's a place we can hide from that maniac. Hopefully, someone else will take care of him."  
  
==Professor Oak's lab  
  
Caryl glared at Ryo. "You...idiot! You had to go and drag me away from the fight, and now you're all hurt. Why couldn't you let me stay?"  
  
Ryo grimaced as he tried to sit up. After Caryl had been sent through the portal, Ryo and Renamon had run back to join the other digidestined, just as Imperialdramon had attacked. As a result, he had several minor injuries, a few burns, and a sprained wrist. Renamon was in another room, also recovering from several minor injuries. "Because you might have gotten hurt. And if you had, I might be standing over your bed, yelling at you. I think I like listening to you shout better than seeing you hurt."  
  
"Ryo..."  
  
Charmeleon, still recovering, groaned. Whether it was because of his injuries or the dialogue was anyone's guess, though. "Where's Renamon?"  
  
"In one of Professor Oak's recovery beds." Tracey said, stepping into the room. "He just wanted me to let you know she'll be up soon. Digimon seem to be quick healers."  
  
"Quicker than pokemon, at any rate." Charmeleon replied, wincing. "I don't think I'll be able to battle again for a while."  
  
Tsukaimon entered the room. "Listening to you two sure sounds familiar," he said, grinning. "Kyle and Casey just got through saying pretty much the same things. Ain't love grand?"  
  
Kunemon, Casey's partner, sighed. "I confess that I still do not know much about human relationships. Although Monodramon offered to explain the finer points to me."  
  
"I think that'd be a bad idea." Kyle Evanick said. He was leaning on Casey, and walking with a slight limp. "And let me just say what a knock-about of pure fun THAT was."  
  
Casey growled a bit as Kyle's weight sent a small spike of pain through her shoulder. "I don't know why I listen to you! You should be in bed, resting."   
  
"You're pretty eager to get me into bed." Kyle replied acidly. He stifled a shout when, a second later, a furiously blushing Casey stomped his foot with her own.  
  
"It's like they're married already." Caryl murmured.  
  
==New York  
  
Mimi glanced over the printouts that Sora had sent her, memorising the contents. "Okay, I think we can do it. I'll just let Sora know."  
  
Palmon, sitting on Mimi's bed, grinned. "Should be quite a show, huh? I can't wait to see Matt's face."  
  
"Really? I thought you'd be all focussed on Ivysaur's face." Mimi replied sweetly. "I've heard of blooming relationships, but that's a bit much, isn't it?" Palmon stuck her tongue out at Mimi, who only smiled and turned back to her computer. "Oh? A new message?" Curious, Mimi opened it.  
  
From: "Sora" stakenouchi@worldnet.jp.org  
  
Subject none  
  
Mimi;  
  
There's been a big fight in the digital world, and a lot of the new kids were hurt. They say that there's a really strong digimon called Imperialdramon, and he might be attacking somewhere else soon. Stay there and keep an eye out.  
  
-Sora  
  
PS: I checked and everyone's fine. But stay clear of the digital world for a while. Tai and Matt went off to talk to Gennai and Azulongmon about something, but they won't say what. Boys. Honestly!  
  
Mimi stared at the screen, stunned.  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
It was a good day to be Darkrizamon. But then, this particular Darkrizamon always thought that. He happily jumped around, blasting opponents with his flame powers. Already, he had attracted several followers, and he was now leading his troupe towards Demon's castle, intending to take it over as his own. "Yes!" he crowed. "With that fool Demon gone, we can take over and run this place the right way! And my fiery followers shall rule this entire plane of existence, and we shall destroy the digital world! And I'll start with that human that killed my brother!"  
  
"Ambitious, but not very creative." someone said.  
  
"Who dares?"  
  
"I do. You know, Darkrizamon, you know why you never made it very far? It's because you could never think things through. And you were never brave enough to challenge Demon directly."  
  
"Dread Fire!" Darkrizamon cried, sending a fire blast at the speaker. Not the brightest member of his family, he never bothered to see who he was attacking. He had about a fifth of a second to ponder this as the counter attack vaporised him and his entire entourage.  
  
==Orange Islands  
  
Davis leaned on the railing, a little exhausted. "That was an awesome show, Melody." He smirked as a thought came to him. "But I thought priestesses weren't allowed to go to rock concerts."  
  
Melody snorted. "Unlike the rest of my family, I kind of like living in today's world. And I'm a shrine maiden, not a priestess."  
  
"There's a difference?"  
  
Melody frowned. "Yes. Could a priestess do this?" She leaned over and kissed Davis.  
  
Okay, Davis thought. What would Tai do? Stammer and act like a doofus, right. Matt? Same thing...Alright, what would...Kyle do? Stammer, be a doofus, and apologise. TK?  
  
Shut up and enjoy it, a part of his mind ordered. And stop talking to yourself!  
  
"There you are!" Yolei interrupted, breaking the mood. "Come on, you're needed!"  
  
"Huh...whuuuh?" Davis babbled, trying to recover.  
  
"No time! The other digidestined are at Professor Oak's, and they're in no condition to fight. Now move!"  
  
"Veemon-"  
  
"June brought him here, then dropped him to check on Kyle. MOVE, MOTOMIYA!"   
  
Davis glanced at Melody, who nodded, then ran for the nearest Digiport. "I'll get V-Mon." she said, heading back to her home.  
  
==Tokyo  
  
As Upamon watched, Cody managed to parry every one of his grandfather's attacks. "Nicely done, Cody. But your arms are still too rigid. An opponent could do...THIS!" Suddenly, his grandfather stepped back, darted to one side, and swung at Cody's back. Awkwardly, Cody blocked the strike. "Good! At this rate, you'll have no trouble beating that Tyson boy."  
  
"The one that's into those battle tops?" Cody asked.  
  
"Focus! I-ah, we have a visitor. Welcome, Ken."  
  
Ken bowed respectfully. "Hello, Mr. Hida. I'm sorry to interrupt, but-"  
  
"Trouble in the digital world?" Mr. Hida replied. Ken nodded. "Then you and Cody should go. Cody, we will resume when you get back. Remember, keep your arms relaxed!"  
  
"Thank you, grandfather!"  
  
Mr. Hida nodded. "Ken. You are welcome to come by any time. Please, tell your family to not be strangers. That goes for you too, Minomon!"  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Hida." Ken answered.  
  
==Pallet Town  
  
Mewtwo looked at the not-human in the bed. Baihumon had reverted to his human guise, presumably as a means of conserving his energy. "Your injuries are grave, and I have done all I can afford to do."   
  
Baihumon nodded. "You sense it too. They're coming, I can feel them approach. What will you do?"  
  
"Before, I would have hidden. But now? Now, I will show Imperialdramon the folly of attacking this world." As Mewtwo spoke, blue fire rippled around him. "I do not know if you will recover. Whether or not you do will depend on you not expending any more of your energy."  
  
Baihumon chuckled weakly. "Your bedside manner needs work."  
  
"I am a pokemon. Not a doctor."  
  
==  
  
Professor Oak yawned; since Mewtwo had brought in the injured digidestined, he had been working non-stop on making sure they were being treated correctly. Fortunately, one of the local Nurse Joys had been near, and had come to assist. Tracey had also helped, as had Joe, who had made it out of Primary Village relatively uninjured.  
  
"It's good thing digimon can heal themselves." Oak sighed. "If it were any worse, I'd have to ask Mewtwo to bring them to a Pokemon Centre. I'm not equipped to handle this sort of thing on a regular basis."  
  
Joe grimaced. "Neither are we. If we just knew more about this Imperialdramon digimon, maybe we could stop him, or at least weaken him enough to drive him back to the Dark Ocean." There was a hard knock at his door. Curious, he went and answered it.  
  
"Get all the pokemon here as far away from the north edge of town as possible!" Officer Jenny ordered. "If possible, get them into pokeballs and transport them out to Viridian, or even Celadon! We're evacuating the town!"  
  
"WHAT?" Oak shouted, startled.  
  
"There's a large number of unknown pokemon approaching Pallet Town, and they've been attacking anything that moves!"  
  
"Those aren't pokemon!" Joe said, horrified. "They've come here..."  
  
"You mean...Imperialdramon?" Oak asked, aghast. Joe nodded. "Tracey, start getting the pokemon in the research forest moving. I have a transporter system set up, we'll send them to Professor Elm's in New Bark Town. He's better equipped. Joe, you and I will get the kids and their digimon-"  
  
"We're not going anywhere." Kyle said, as he entered the hallway.  
  
"Don't be insane!" Officer Jenny said. "This isn't a pack of Houndour that's running amok, this is...an army!"  
  
"And we're the only ones that can handle it!" Growlithe replied, causing Jenny to stop and stare. "They've come for us. If we run, they'll pursue us, and destroy anything that gets in their path."  
  
"Well said." Mewtwo added, appearing in a flash of blue fire. "Davis and Yolei are on their way, as is Melody. Once Ken and Cody get here, we can fight them."  
  
"Komainumon and Paildramon, yeah." Elecmon said, nodding. "But is Patamon healed enough to DNA digivolve with Ankylomon?"  
  
"Leave it to me!" Patamon said.  
  
"And we'll run interference." Crystal said, Eevee nodding in agreement.  
  
"No way!" Jenny almost snarled. "I've already had to airlift one trainer who tried to be a hero. It was a miracle that-"  
  
"Digiarmour Energize!"  
  
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Strabimon, warrior of hope!" As Officer Jenny watched, Crystal's Eevee evolved into a humanoid fighter, unlike anything she had ever seen. "We're staying." Strabimon said quietly.  
  
"Alright." Izzy said, entering the room with Tentomon, Kari, and Salamon. "Kyle, June, and Crystal will go on ahead to hold off the army. TK, you wait here for Davis, Ken, and Cody."  
  
"What about you?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Tentomon and I will join you. Kari, I know you want to help, but Salamon's still too weak. And the other digidestined are going to help with the pokemon evacuation."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Kari." Izzy said quietly, looking right at her. "There's no other choice. If Imperialdramon is able to make it here, then he might be able to make it to our world too. That's why I didn't get Tai, Matt, or Sora to come." Izzy glanced up as the computer flared several times. "Sooner than I expected."  
  
Ken nodded. "Mr. Hida was very understanding."  
  
"At least you didn't walk in on Davis and Melody m-Mmrph!" Davis clapped a hand over Yolei's mouth before she could say any more. Melody blushed slightly, and both Veemons sighed.  
  
"What were Davis and Melody doing?" Cody asked.  
  
"When you're older, Cody." Kari replied. "Izzy...?"  
  
"I'll be careful."  
  
"Better be careful Davis." Elecmon joked. "Izzy's got the whole thing planned out."  
  
"Yeah. You might have to let him wear those goggles." Salamon added. "I think I can digivolve to Gatomon in a few minutes, Kari."  
  
"Thanks, but no. I get goggle-hair." Izzy chuckled at the image of him with goggles on, trying to lead Tai around. "And the more help we can get, the better, Salamon."  
  
==  
  
"This way, come on." Seth said, motioning to the family of Oddishes. "Just head towards the lab, and we'll get you sent to a safer place."  
  
"Come on! Please?" Caryl begged, trying to push a Snorlax through the door. "There's no way we can get this pokemon into a pokeball! Renamon, a little help?" Sighing, Renamon tried to move Snorlax, with little success.  
  
"This is going too slow!" Kyle Evanick called from inside. "It'll take hours to get all these pokemon into pokeballs!"  
  
"Maybe we can help!" Tsukaimon said. "I think I'm strong enough to digivolve again. How about you?" he asked Candmon, who nodded. "Right. Kyle, if we can digivolve I think we can speed this up. Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!"  
  
"Candmon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!" Both Wizardmon held up their staffs, focussing what energy they could.  
  
"Kyle, tell Elm to open up the portal, NOW!" Kyle did so, tapping instructions out on the keyboard. "Magic Game!" both digimon shouted. The transporter system flared azure for a second. When everyone in the room could see again, they saw that a portal had formed to Professor Elm's home! "We combined our powers to create a more stable portal! We should be able to march all the pokemon through now!" Seth looked at the portal, trying not to look too startled when a very confused Professor Elm stuck his head through. "Uhh...step back, sir? Snorlax coming through."  
  
"Renamon, HELP! He's trying to sit on me!"  
  
==  
  
Tracey looked around. "There's still a few pokemon in this area to clear out. I'm glad that Ryo and Charmeleon were able to get the word out about the evacuation."  
  
Stuart shrugged. "Well, leave pokemon to the experts, right? Where is he now?"  
  
"He and Casey are east of here, clearing out the ground and rock pokemon. It's weird. There's usually so many pokemon in these woods, now it's..quiet." He glanced at Scizor, who was staring into the distance.  
  
"Not for too much longer." the bug pokemon whispered. "Get moving."  
  
"I-" Monodramon started.  
  
"GO!" Scizor roared, wings already extended. There was a crack, and Tracey's Scyther appeared. Scizor glanced back, and saw that, judging by Tracey's surprised expression, he hadn't released the pokemon. "Not this time, old man."  
  
:Try and stop me: Scyther replied, marching towards the attackers. :I don't run from battles. Besides, someone's got to keep him safe.:  
  
Tracey stepped forward, trying to recall Scyther. "Go." Scizor repeated. "I'll keep an eye on him."  
  
==  
  
Mewtwo looked up as the first explosions reached the lab. "Battle has been joined. But I do not sense Imperialdramon among the attackers."  
  
"Standard plan." Baihumon replied, voice rattling slightly. "Wear down the defenders, then sweep in and finish them off. Don't go yet, there's no point in drawing him out now."  
  
"I will not wait long, Baihumon. We would be better served by finding Imperialdramon now and removing him."  
  
"And he's expecting that. He's still a Dark type pokemon at heart, you know. The majority of your powers will not work on him. It's a risk, but we'll have to wait for him to commit himself to battle."  
  
==  
  
"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"  
  
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"  
  
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon!"  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"  
  
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"  
  
"V-Mon, digivolve to...Depthmon!" Depthmon's tail glowed for a second, and became a pair of blue and white legs.  
  
"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! And does it feel good to be back!"  
  
TK stepped forward, but was stopped by Crystal. "Not yet. Just give Patamon a bit longer, alright?"  
  
"Only if you and Strabimon are careful out there."  
  
Leomon groaned slightly. "If you two are quite done?"  
  
"You have no romance in your heart, Leomon." June pouted.  
  
"We do have a battle coming up."  
  
Exveemon smirked. "That's no excuse to come between a boy and a girl." TK and Crystal were both blushing now.  
  
Davis shared a sigh with Ken. "Okay, the moment's over. Let's go save the world!"  
  
"Kyle?" Arcanine asked.  
  
"You bet I'm going with you. Someone has to tell you which way to aim your Flamethrower."  
  
"Right, sure. Just...be careful, alright? June'd have my hide for a rug if anything happened to you. Even if it did mean she'd get to see you in bed again."  
  
Kyle carefully avoided looking in Davis' direction, already feeling the mental daggers coming from June's brother.  
  
==  
  
"Get'em, guys!" Yanmamon shouted to the swarm of Yanma he had summoned. The bug pokemon, acting as one, hammered the Devidramon with a massive Sonic Boom, forcing the digimon to his knees. "Thunder Ray!" The electric bolt speared the Devidramon. The Yanma flew off, as Yanmamon landed near Casey.  
  
A short distance away, Ryo and Charizard were fighting a pair of Flymon. "DRAGON RAGE!" Charizard bellowed, sending a wave of greenish flame at one of the attackers. The other Flymon dodged the blast, and stabbed Charizard with his stinger.  
  
"Charizard!" Ryo cried. "Nidoking, GO!" he called, releasing the massive pokemon. Nidoking emerged, saw Charizard already kneeling, weakened by the venom in Flymon's sting, and attacked the insect digimon. Flymon lasted about three seconds against Nidoking's near-berserk attacks, quickly disintegrating.  
  
"Please, not that slop again..." Charizard groaned as Ryo approached with a small bottle in his hand.  
  
"It'll counter the poison. Now drink up." Ryo ordered. "Hey, Casey, you alright?"  
  
"Better than you, old timer!" Casey shouted back.  
  
"I'll tell your boyfriend you said that!"  
  
"HEY!"  
  
==  
  
Strabimon shouted an attack, and tore through the line of Vilemon that was approaching Professor Oak's lab. Beside him, Depthmon made several slashes with his talons. Above them, Stingmon and Kabuterimon were teaming up against an Ice Devimon that had made it through. Further away, Davis and Exvemon were trying to catch up with June and Leomon, who had gone ahead with Kyle and Arcanine.  
  
"Where's Cody and Ankylomon?" Crystal wondered. There was a roar, as a Golemon sailed through the air, landing in a heap near one of the evacuated houses. "Never mind."  
  
Arcanine, Leomon, Kyle, and June had broken off, and were trying to find Imperialdramon. The plan was, once they did, they would let TK know, and he and Cody would DNA digivolve their digimon to Shakouomon, and help defeat the powerful mega. "He's this way. I think he's gone back to being Metal Devidramon. Probably conserving energy." Arcanine said, sniffing the ground.  
  
"Once we engage him, you two should go back to the others." Leomon said. Kyle grimaced; he hated not being with Arcanine in a battle.  
  
"Are you sure?" June asked. "I know we can't really battle him, but-"  
  
"If we fight Imperialdramon, he might try to use you as hostages; he's incredibly fast, from what the others had told us."  
  
"And powerful." Kyle agreed. "We'll keep out of your way, but even if we wanted to, I don't think we could get that far away anyway."  
  
"Well, keep safe, alright?" Arcanine asked. "Ahead. We're close."  
  
"Close, yes." Metal Devidramon said, leaning on a tree. "Too close, in fact. Now, isn't this sweet. Two humans and their pets on a nature walk."  
  
Leomon jumped forward, sword already drawn. "I'll teach you the folly of attacking this world!" he screamed. Metal Devidramon's tail whipped around, disarmed Leomon, and sent the warrior flying. Arcanine charged in, roaring.  
  
==  
  
"Hyper Beam!" Scizor yelled, firing twin bolts of energy at the attacking Devimon. Along with the evil digimon, several Vilemon had tagged along, and were harassing Scyther. "Hey, get out of here, old man!"   
  
"Scyther! Scythe, SCYTHER!" Scyther replied, telling Scizor where he could stick that suggestion. He spun and decapitated one Vilemon, while maiming two more.  
  
"Not bad for a geezer." Scizor muttered.  
  
"You should respect your elders." Devimon leered. "Of course, you will not live to see the end of this battle, so I suppose it does not matter. Death Claw!" Scizor ducked the attack. While Devimon was not as powerful as Lady Devimon, he more than made up with his speed and cunning. "You cannot win, pokemon! I am your superior!"  
  
"Only in ego! Swords Dance!"  
  
"You won't have the chance to power up! Death Claw!"  
  
"Scyther!" In a flash, the green bug leaped and intercepted Devimon's attack before it could connect. Wings buzzing, Scyther glared at Devimon.  
  
"Please, I will squash you two like the bugs that you are! You two!" he indicated two of the surviving Vilemon. "Black Contract!" Devimon's arms stretched out, grabbing the two Vilemon and slamming them together. "Now, dark digivolve to...Skull Mamemon!" The resulting digimon was not much larger than the Vilemon it had formed from. It was a dusky grey, and had a skull over its head, and one arm was skeletal, with small claws extending from the wrist. "A little project; Metal Mamemon's attack and defensive powers, combined with Skull Greymon's ferocity. You like?"  
  
"No. HYPER BEAM!"  
  
Devimon dodged the attack, laughing. "It's not me you should be worrying about! Skull Mamemon, forget the old relic and destroy Scizor!"  
  
==  
  
"Keep fighting!" Seth yelled, as Stuart and Caryl herded a few more pokemon through the portal. A short distance away, Kyuubimon battled the two attacking Musyamon, while both Wizardmon were focussed on keeping the portal open. "We just need to keep the portal open for a few more minutes!"  
  
"Double Star!"  
  
"Rosetta Stone!" The two attackers were driven back as Shurimon and Nefertimon ran up. "Kari sent us ahead to help out." Nefertimon explained. "She's back at the house, Crystal and Melody are there too, defending the place."  
  
"Good." Kyle answered, glancing at the computer. "The system's starting to overload. We're going to have to let the portal close and give the computers at both ends time to recover. I figure we managed to get about two-thirds of the pokemon here through. Hopefully, the rest are in hiding." He glanced out over the field, hearing explosions.  
  
"Ryo!" Caryl gasped. "Aerodactyl! GO!" She called out the flying dinosaur pokemon and quickly flew off.  
  
Seth watched Caryl fly off. "Where...?"  
  
"She snagged it from one of those Team Rocket guys, when they tried to nab Ryo and TK." Kyle shrugged. "It's scary how good she's getting at this. Okay, let's go give Renamon and the others a hand!"  
  
==  
  
"Here comes the Calvary! V-LASER!" Exveemon shouted, energy blast striking Metal Devidramon head-on. Ken and Davis ran over to Kyle and June.  
  
"Glad you two could make it out!" Arcanine yelled. "What kept you?"  
  
"Davis took a wrong turn!" Ken answered, still a bit miffed.  
  
"What? Hey, I've only been here, what, once?"  
  
"Later!" June interrupted. "Kyle!" She held out her digivice.  
  
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"  
  
"Don't forget about us! Exveemon...Stingmon...DNA Digivolve to...Paildramon!"  
  
Metal Devidramon regarded the two DNA digimon coolly. "Well, this should be a challenge. I'll tell you what. I'll fight you as I am now for four minutes. If you can't beat me by then, I'll digivolve to Imperialdramon and disintegrate everything within a five mile radius. Fair?"  
  
"Everyone, meet Vegitamon." Davis muttered darkly.  
  
"You're kidding, right?" Paildramon asked incredulously.  
  
"Four minutes, fifty seconds."  
  
"You won't last another half-minute! Celestial Edict!" Komainumon's strongest attack shot at Metal Devidramon, but was blocked by an energy blast from the red gem on Metal Devidramon's tail.  
  
"Desperado Blaster!"  
  
==  
  
Devimon laughed out loud, watching Scizor battle Skull Mamemon, not caring that the pokemon was slowly overcoming Devimon's creation. "Now, what about you...?" he mused, glancing at Scyther. Scyther was watching the battle, recovering his strength. "Ah, I know. Come, my servants. Come and destroy everything! Hell Contract!" Around Scyther, the ground opened up and a small swarm of Bakemon rose from the ground.  
  
"No!" Scizor yelled, glancing and seeing Scyther start to get overwhelmed by the attacking ghosts.  
  
"Pay attention!" Skull Mamemon roared. "Skull Bomb!" Instinctively, Scizor blocked the attack, taking the full brunt of the explosion on his claws. Skull Mamemon smirked, and turned away, convinced that the pokemon had been destroyed. "Pathetic." He snarled. A second later, Scizor, wrapped in a bluish-white aura, shot through the clouds, and struck Skull Mamemon, the Quick Attack finishing the battle in one blow.  
  
"Impressive. But your friend needs help."  
  
Scizor glared at Devimon. "I'll save him and then destroy you." Powering up, he flew down and sent several Bakemon flying. Devimon watched the two pokemon battle the ghost digimon he had summoned. Demon was right about him, Devimon mused. He is becoming more powerful. Ah well, I shall just finish him now.  
  
Scizor finished off the last of the Bakemon attacking Scyther when he heard Devimon shout something. Looking up, he saw Devimon, red-tipped glove extended in front of him, attacking too quickly for him to defend.  
  
"SCYTHER!"  
  
==  
  
"Come now, it's been three minutes, and I haven't even gotten a scratch! Surely you are capable of more than this?"  
  
Just wait another two minutes and find out, Paildramon thought to himself. "We haven't even started yet!" he called, placing his hands together, as if praying. "Elemental Bolt!" A spherical bolt of energy shot from Paildramon's clenched fists, striking Metal Devidramon. The attack drove Metal Devidramon back, but did no damage. It did allow Komainumon to strike Metal Devidramon with his staff, though.  
  
"Three minutes, twenty five seconds. I'm still waiting."  
  
"This is getting stupid! Dragon Fang!"  
  
"Desperado Blaster!"  
  
"PATHETIC!" Metal Devidramon roared, blocking both attacks. "The Destiny Stone has given me so much power that fighting you is becoming boring! And...your time is up. Metal Devidramon, digivolve to-"  
  
"NOW!" Paildramon yelled.  
  
"IMPERIALDRAMON!"  
  
"Ankylomon...Angemon...DNA Digivolve to...Shakouomon!"  
  
"GIGA CRUSHER!" At the last moment, Shakouomon charged forwards, almost knocking Paildramon over and absorbing Imperialdramon's attack. "No!"  
  
"Yes." Mewtwo said, appearing over Shakouomon. "Now you will feel our combined fury. HYPER BEAM!"  
  
"Harmonious Spirit!"  
  
"Desperado Blaster!"  
  
"Celestial Edict!" Boosted by the power of Imperialdramon's own attack, the four beams slammed into Imperialdramon, the flare from the attacks blinding everyone in the area. "Did we get him?"  
  
"I think so." Davis said.  
  
"Yeah. No one could have survived that!" TK added, glancing at Shakouomon. His cheer died a second later when his vision cleared, and the smoke cloud kicked up by the combined attack.  
  
"That. Stung. DIE!"  
  
==  
  
Kari ran down the hall to where Baihumon was resting. She had heard the explosion, and then a shudder had gone through the house. "I hate being the only one here. Why did Professor Oak have to go to Professor Elm's place now? Baihumon? Baihumon!" Kari ran into the room where the guardian was resting. She found the bed empty, and a giant hole in the wall.  
  
==  
  
With a shout, Imperialdramon swung his tail, striking and knocking out Shakouomon, that digimon splitting back into Upamon and Tokomon. Dismissing them, he turned to Komainumon. "Now for you."  
  
"You infernal beast! I won't let you get away with this!" Baihumon roared, charging through the brush and leaping onto Imperialdramon, teeth sinking into the dragon's neck. Imperialdramon shot up into the air, carrying the guardian with him.  
  
"What's he doing?" Paildramon gasped.  
  
"He is burning himself out." Mewtwo snarled, aura flaring white. "At this rate, he will die within minutes." Saying nothing else, he flew up.  
  
"Mewtwo!" Kyle yelled. Mewtwo ignored the protests of the humans, intent on saving Baihumon.  
  
==  
  
"Let go, you overgrown housecat! RELEASE ME!" Baihumon stopped biting onto Imperialdramon, trying to find some way to hang on.  
  
"Fine, you taste terrible anyway!" Baihumon replied, claws digging in. "It ends here, monster!"  
  
"I agree!" Imperialdramon flipped over, trying to toss the guardian off. "Let's see if you can breathe space, guardian." He would have continued, but was interrupted by a bolt of lighting striking him.  
  
"You will not leave this world alive, Imperialdramon." Mewtwo growled. "And be assured. This world is my weapon."  
  
"Conceited, self-righteous, and arrogant." Imperialdramon mused. "You would make a good guardian, Mewtwo. And you'll die like one too! Giga Crusher!" Mewtwo dodged the attack, teleporting out of its path. He responded with a psychic wave, which splashed harmlessly against Imperialdramon's defences.  
  
"I agree with the first part, anyway." Baihumon said. "Iron Claw!" With a yell, he drew his claws across Imperialdramon's back, near his wings. He jumped, allowing Mewtwo to launch a ball of electric force at the damaged area.  
  
"ENOUGH!" Imperialdramon roared, twisting in mid-air. One of his wings caught Baihumon, and sent the guardian hurtling towards the earth. He then took advantage of Mewtwo's distraction and fired his Positron Laser at him. It was not fully charged, but it was enough to knock out the pokemon and send him falling as well. Grimacing with pain, Imperialdramon followed the two down.  
  
A few seconds before he hit, Baihumon recovered enough of his mind to try and slow his fall. He expended a burst of power, slowing his and Mewtwo's descent. This act, combined with his injuries, nearly knocked him out. As it was, he was barely able to stand when Imperialdramon appeared overhead.  
  
"Impressive, but futile." Imperialdramon saw Komainumon and Paildramon approaching, along with their human partners. "And now for the master stroke." he flew up, particles of energy gathering in his cannon. "GIGA DEATH!" he shouted, launching a ball of energy at Baihumon and Mewtwo, strong enough to destroy Pallet Town, even at this distance. The ball slowly descended, then was stopped by the two DNA digimon's combined powers. "You're in my way! POSITRON LASER!" The two combined attacks punched through the barrier, and, slightly deflected, shot towards Mewtwo.  
  
Baihumon channelled the last of his energies into a single well-timed leap, intercepting the two attacks with his own body. Imperialdramon was forced to pull away as Baihumon's own power fed back into the energy ball, causing it to detonate, the majority of its force directed upwards. When the dust cleared, there were four digimon, four humans, one pokemon, all badly injured, on the ground. Baihumon stood there, but his body was grey, it being carbonised on the spot. Slowly, the digicore spheres that always floated around the tiger darkened and fell to the ground, shattering.  
  
"Now, for the denouement." Imperialdramon said, drawing on his power. His body shimmered, and vanished.  
  
Slowly, Davis got up, pain shooting through his arms. "Baihumon..."  
  
==Tokyo Bay  
  
It was a clear day over Tokyo. Cold, but no snow or anything. Some people came to look over Tokyo Bay, and watch the ships leave and enter the dock.   
  
Without warning, Imperialdramon materialised over the bay, roaring and sensing an easy kill. He stopped, sensing a massive power nearby.  
  
"Let's dance." Omnimon said, glaring at Imperialdramon.  
  
Next Episode  
  
Baihumon is dead, and only Omnimon and Phoenixmon are left to fight Imperialdramon over Tokyo. But, one of Baihumon's digicores survives, and reveals a message and unlocks a hidden power that could save all three worlds from Imperialdramon's rampage. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -   
  
'Baihumon's Legacy 3 - Mewtwo, Guardian of the Digital World.' 


	36. Digicross TV series 35 'Baihumon's Legac...

Mew flew around, enjoying the simple pleasure of a warm day. It had gotten a   
  
bit cold in the Kanto region, so he decided to check out a different area. The   
  
Oore region sounded interesting. He didn't bother teleporting, preferring to   
  
simply go underwater, meeting all the pokemon that lived in the oceans along the   
  
way.  
  
:Mew: a voice said. :Your help is needed:  
  
"Mew?"  
  
==15 minutes ago  
  
Tai and Matt looked around the wreckage of Primary Village, watching as the   
  
guardians used their power to rebuild it. "It must have been some battle." Matt   
  
said, awed by the power being used.  
  
"Yeah." Tai replied, not really paying attention.  
  
"Hey, she'll be fine." Matt place a hand on Tai's shoulder. "She's got Gatomon   
  
with her. And Izzy." he added with a smirk.  
  
Gennai came over. The two boys still took a second to recognize him; they   
  
always had the image of a wizened old dwarf when they thought of Gennai, not a   
  
tall, slim human capable of opening his eyes. "It's ready. But I have to warn   
  
you, the power won't be stable in your world, if it comes to that. Remember,   
  
Imperialdramon will have the advantage."  
  
"Not for long, with this little baby." Matt said. "Hey, we took care of   
  
Diaboromon, right? We just have to finish the fight quickly."  
  
"He'll be powerful, more powerful than Diaboromon." Gennai replied, face dark.  
  
"Hey, remember that Sora's going to be there. Phoenixmon will help a lot too."  
  
Gennai nodded. "I almost forgot that Biyomon learned how to warp-digivolve at   
  
Mount Moon. You're right, we just might-" Gennai stopped, looking at the   
  
draconian form of Azulongmon. He and the other two guardians had stopped work,   
  
and were roaring in anger. "Baihumon." Gennai said, a bit sadly. He then got a   
  
hold of himself, and held his hands out. In them appeared a small digicore,   
  
glowing with energy. "This has all the power Azulongmon can spare. Careful   
  
with it."  
  
"We will. Agumon, you ready?" Tai called.  
  
The small yellow dinosaur ran over. "You bet!"  
  
"Gabumon! We got to go save the world, you ready?"  
  
"I'll be all over it, Matt!"  
  
"DIGIVOLVE!"  
  
==Now  
  
Omnimon glared at Imperialdramon. "Let's dance."  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 34  
  
'Baihumon's Legacy 3 - Mewtwo, Guardian of the Digital World.'  
  
==  
  
==Pallet Town  
  
Davis came to, feeling something shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw that it   
  
was Melody. "Wake up! Please, Davis, wake up!"  
  
"M...Melody...?"  
  
"Davis!" Melody sobbed, nearly crushing him in a fierce hug. "We saw the blast,   
  
and..."  
  
"Kyle? And...JUNE!"  
  
"They're fine." Ken said, standing. Davis saw a small flying cat hovering over   
  
Kyle and his sister. All three were glowing with a faint white light.   
  
"Azulongmon sent for Mew to come and heal us. All the ones he could, anyway..."  
  
Davis blinked, confused. Then he saw the fossilized remains of Baihumon, small   
  
shards of crystal lying around him. "It can't be."  
  
"It is." Ken said sadly. "He's dead. All that's left is this. One of his   
  
digicores survived. I found it underneath him, just lying there."  
  
Getting up, June walked over, placing a hand on the stone digimon. "I became a   
  
digidestined because of him..." Davis went over and held his sister.  
  
"This is not over." Mewtwo growled, standing up.  
  
"No it isn't." Elecmon added. "I say we track down Imperialdramon."  
  
Growlithe nodded. "He can't be that hard to find."  
  
"What then?" Ken asked.  
  
TK, holding Tokomon in his arms, shrugged. "I don't know. But I think Tai and   
  
Matt had something in mind..."  
  
==Tokyo  
  
Sora looked out the window in her room, picking out the occasional flash of   
  
light as Omnimon battled.  
  
"Sora! Come on, we have to get going!" her mom said. "Your father's going to   
  
meet us and...No, you can't be thinking-"  
  
"I am, Mom. I have to go. Biyomon and Tai need me." Sora hugged her mom,   
  
grabbed a jacket, and headed for the door.  
  
"Sora? Sora, wait! Please, don't go there! I almost lost you last time to   
  
those digimon things!"  
  
"Mom, please! I have to go, I'm one of the only ones who can fight this thing.   
  
Please?" Sora's mom nodded. "I promise, Biyomon and I will be careful. Tell   
  
dad that-"  
  
"I think he'll understand. Good luck, Sora." Her mom kissed her, and Sora left.  
  
She found Biyomon waiting outside. "I didn't want to come in." Biyomon   
  
explained.  
  
"I know. But Tai needs us now."  
  
"What about Matt?" Biyomon asked.  
  
"That's Mimi's job. Ready?" Sora held up her digivice, which started glowing.  
  
"Biyomon, warp-digivolve to...Phoenixmon!"  
  
Inside the house, Sora's mom watched Phoenixmon appear and carry her daughter   
  
towards the fight. "She's been hanging around with that Kamiya boy too much."   
  
she whispered, than went to get her things, as well as Sora's.  
  
==Outside Professor Oak's lab  
  
Scizor blinked at the object in his claws. His last clear memory was of Scyther   
  
charging in and attacking Devimon just before he hit. Then he felt...something   
  
come out of him, and then he passed out.   
  
In his travels, he had seen one or two of these particular digimon, but not   
  
quite this colour. Or under these circumstances. "Will someone," the grass-  
  
green Tentomon demanded, looking around, "PLEASE tell me what's going on?"  
  
How am I going to explain this to Tracey, Scizor wondered.  
  
==Real World  
  
Imperialdramon lurched back, ducking a blast from Omnimon's Supreme Cannon.   
  
"Hasty shot. Hope you can aim better than that." To accent his taunt, he moved   
  
himself between Omnimon and Tokyo itself, preventing Omnimon from using his   
  
ranged weapon again.  
  
Along the seawall, Tai and Matt watched the battle. "He's using us as a   
  
shield!" Matt snarled. "That coward!"  
  
"Transcendent Sword!" Omnimon roared, summoning up the blade from his Wargreymon   
  
arm and swinging it at Imperialdramon. Startled, the dragon pulled back, the   
  
blade grazing his forward left shoulder. "A bit at a time, if that's what it   
  
takes!"  
  
"You won't have the time! Giga Death!" Swinging his blade again, Omnimon cut   
  
the energy ball in two, destroying the attack, then dashing forward again,   
  
trying to impale the evil dragon. "You won't get me like that!"  
  
"Starlight Explosion!"  
  
"WHO DARES-" Imperialdramon bellowed as the flames washed over him. He felt a   
  
stab of pain, then another as the captured Destiny Stone energy started to   
  
rebel. With an effort, he brought the power back under his control. "So, they   
  
sent the Christmas turkey early, eh?"  
  
Phoenixmon ignored the jibe. "You're not welcome here, Imperialdramon. Leave   
  
now."  
  
"Or what? My pokemon DNA allows me to stay in this world indefinitely with no   
  
ill effects. What of you two? I bet your strength is already failing."  
  
"It will last long enough to end you! CRIMSON FLARE!" Wrapped in flames,   
  
Phoenixmon charged at Imperialdramon. She crashed into him, the explosion   
  
shattering windows over several blocks.  
  
Sora ran over to Tai and Matt. "Phoenixmon! Try to take the fight out over the   
  
ocean!" she called.  
  
"Yeah!" Matt added. "He can't use the city as a defence then!"  
  
Imperialdramon drew back. He could sense that these two were pure digimon, and   
  
that they could not last for long in the Human world. So how had they stayed   
  
hidden without him knowing it? Focussing, he got his answer. "I smell   
  
Azulongmon's stench on you, Omnimon. So that oversized snake can't fight his   
  
own battles anymore? And you...Ah, you are touched by my home dimension. Well,   
  
this should be fun. I might not even have to hold back this time."  
  
"Hold back?" Tai gasped.  
  
"He's just bluffing!" Matt replied. "Omnimon, take him apart!"  
  
"You too, Phoenixmon!"  
  
Around the city, those who had not evacuated yet saw the three Digimon battling,   
  
either on the news, or with their own eyes.  
  
"Hey, isn't that...?"  
  
"I saw it too. Just like four years ago!"  
  
"Omnimon, wasn't that his name?"  
  
The residents quickly moved as close as they could towards the battle-zone,   
  
confirming what they had suspected. After four years, Omnimon had returned to   
  
save them. "Omnimon! Omnimon! Omnimon!" the chant went.  
  
"Hear that! They're cheering for you!" Tai yelled.  
  
"How touching. POSITRON LASER!" Instantly, Omnimon parried the blast. As he   
  
did, Phoenixmon flew behind Imperialdramon, intending to attack the dragon's   
  
blind spot. Imperialdramon broke off the attack, twisted, and tried to catch   
  
Phoenixmon with another energy blast.  
  
==Professor Oak's lab  
  
"You're in no condition to fight." Kyle said, looking at Mewtwo. "Even with   
  
Mew's help, you still burned up a lot of your energy."  
  
Mewtwo glanced at Kyle. It was not so long ago, he thought, that I would have   
  
burned him to ash for that. "Energy or not, I cannot let Baihumon's death go   
  
unavenged."  
  
"What about this?" Ken asked, holding up the digicore taken from Baihumon's   
  
body. Curious, Mewtwo went over and touched the artifact. Instantly, it lit   
  
up, flew into Mewtwo's hand, and locked the pokemon in a crackling energy field.  
  
"Mewtwo!" everyone said, running over. Ken stopped them, holding a hand up.  
  
Mewtwo's eyes opened, seeing only a dark-grey, featureless plain. "Where am I?"   
  
he asked, wondering if this was some last trick of Imperialdramon's. As he   
  
looked, he spotted a faint grey figure approaching. It was translucent,   
  
humanoid, but moving towards him.  
  
"We have a lot to do, and not much time." Baihumon's ghost said urgently.  
  
==Real World  
  
Matt winced as Imperialdramon's tail snaked around and struck Omnimon, throwing   
  
the digital warrior back. His head whipped around and tried to bite Phoenixmon,   
  
who only barely got her wing clear in time. Intent on his prey, Imperialdramon   
  
kept pushing his attack on Phoenixmon.  
  
Omnimon saw the opening that Phoenixmon provided. He took aim, knowing that,   
  
now that Imperialdramon was above him, he had no need to fear of harming Tokyo.   
  
"Supreme Cannon!"  
  
Imperialdramon broke off the attack, and quickly summoned up his power to defend   
  
himself. The attack struck him, sending the dragon a good half-mile straight   
  
up. He reproached himself for making such an elementary mistake. "Time to show   
  
them my real power."  
  
"A few more like that, and we'll have him beat!" Omnimon said, getting ready   
  
for the next attack. "You ready, Phoenixmon?"  
  
"I should hope so." Imperialdramon said, appearing right in front of Omnimon.  
  
"How-?"  
  
"My might is only half of my power. The other half-" as he spoke, he vanished,   
  
reappearing right in front of the digidestined, "is my speed!" He reared up,   
  
ready to strike Tai, Matt, and Sora.  
  
Omnimon shot down, clubbing Imperialdramon with his gun-arm. "RUN!" Omnimon   
  
yelled. "It's too dangerous here!"  
  
"That's the first smart thing you said! DEVIL BITE!" Imperialdramon's teeth   
  
locked onto Omnimon's leg, allowing the dragon to hurl Omnimon away, over the   
  
city. "Now for you, Phoenixmon."  
  
"RUN!" Sora screamed. "Phoenixmon, get out of there!" Sora was sure that the   
  
battle had suddenly turned against them. However, her partner ignored her,   
  
focussed on the fight.  
  
"I'd listen to her. Without that tin can, you'll fall soon enough."  
  
"We'll see. RRARRR!" Phoenixmon charged again, as did Imperialdramon.  
  
==Pallet Town  
  
Kari and Izzy were staring at Baihumon's remains when Gennai appeared, Gennai   
  
nearly fainting when he saw what was left of Baihumon. "So it's true. What   
  
happened?"  
  
Davis looked at the statue. "Baihumon and Mewtwo fought Imperialdramon. Mewtwo   
  
survived, but something happened when he touched one of those blue thingines   
  
that Baihumon left behind."  
  
Gennai looked at Mewtwo. "His digicore!"  
  
"His what?" Cody asked, cradling Upamon.  
  
"Digicore. It's...well, it's like a Digimon's soul. The four...three remaining   
  
guardians all have multiple digicores to hold their power in check. They can   
  
use it to help other Digimon as well; Azulongmon just used one of his digicores   
  
to help Tai and Matt power up their Digimon."  
  
"Why?" TK asked, certain he'd hate knowing the answer.  
  
"Because Imperialdramon just appeared over Tokyo, and Omnimon and Phoenixmon are   
  
fighting him."  
  
"Then let's go!" Veemon said. Amazingly, he, Elecmon, and Wormmon had managed   
  
to remain in their rookie forms. "We can't let what happened here happen to   
  
Tokyo! There's too much neat stuff there!"  
  
"Childish, but true." Growlithe agreed. "Can we use one of those digicores as   
  
well? We might be able to help."  
  
"We have to!" Wormmon said suddenly, startling Ken. "If we lose Tokyo, it would   
  
be a disaster!" He glanced at Ken, who nodded.  
  
"There's not much power left, but I'll get what I can." Gennai replied. "What   
  
wasn't spared to help Agumon and Gabumon, the other guardians are using to   
  
repair Primary Village and compensate for the lost Destiny Stone." He closed   
  
his eyes for a minute, then opened them. He put his hands together, and another   
  
digicore appeared, this one not glowing as brightly as the first one. "There's   
  
not much power here. I can get you back up to your DNA forms with it, but   
  
little more."  
  
"It'll have to do." Kyle said, June nodding. "Growlithe?"  
  
"I can feel it. We'll need a portal, too."  
  
Izzy nodded. "Ready when you are, guys. Good luck."  
  
Gennai looked at Mewtwo. "I'll see what I can do for Mewtwo." He looked again   
  
at the inert pokemon, wondering what was happening to him.  
  
==  
  
"Little time for what, Baihumon?" Mewtwo asked the ghost. "Are you not dead?   
  
And am I also struck down?"  
  
"No. I transferred the last of my spirit into the digicore you are now holding.   
  
I did it so I could explain some things to you. You know that I've been leading   
  
up to something." Mewtwo nodded. "When the Dark Masters trapped us, I tried to   
  
break out. One of my attempts led to your world, as you know. My first thought   
  
was, on seeing all the pokemon trainers here, to draw the digidestined from   
  
here. Then I made the very foolish attempt of trying to contact a pokemon   
  
directly." In his hand, an image of a small green pokemon appeared.  
  
"Celebi." Mewtwo answered. "You saw this event coming?"  
  
"Not in any detail. But I was aware that my days were numbered. Mewtwo, I want   
  
you to take over as the guardian of my realm."  
  
"What?" Mewtwo gasped.  
  
"It's a big request, I know. But I also know that you can do it. Even if we do   
  
defeat Imperialdramon, the Dark Ocean will be with us for a very long time, if   
  
not forever. The Digital World needs a guardian, and I believe that you can do   
  
that job."  
  
"What else could there be, besides Imperialdramon?"  
  
"He's acting on his own. When he blasted me, I was able to touch his mind,   
  
briefly; I could use the power he had taken from the Destiny Stone to read his   
  
thoughts. He killed Demon, or so he thinks, and set off a riot in the Dark   
  
Ocean."  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Arukenimon had run out of places to run to. Sneasel stood beside her, glaring   
  
defiantly at Murmuxmon. "My love..." Murmuxmon moaned. "Join me."  
  
In an instant, Arukenimon shifted to her spider form and hurled a web at the   
  
insane Digimon. Following her lead, Sneasel digivolved to Lady Devimon and   
  
unleashed a wave of blackness at Murmuxmon as well. Both attacks were stopped   
  
well short of the target. With a wave, Murmuxmon sent Lady Devimon flying,   
  
slamming into a wall, and reverting to Sneasel. "Now, it is just you and me."  
  
"Get away from me!" Arukenimon shrieked, spitting a greenish cloud of acidic   
  
poison. Murmuxmon ignored it.  
  
"You know, the lady did say no."   
  
Murmuxmon stopped, and slowly turned around. At the entrance of the hallway,   
  
Demon stood there, regarding Murmuxmon calmly. "I remember you." Was all   
  
Murmuxmon said.  
  
"And I you. I see your confinement has increased your powers. It is a shame   
  
that your mind has not similarly improved. Perhaps I will have to seal you away   
  
again."  
  
"You won't take me away from my love!" he raised his arms, summoning an attack   
  
spell.  
  
"Chaos Flare." As before, the flame covered Murmuxmon, though it did little   
  
damage. "Arukenimon, Sneasel, please leave us."  
  
"M...Master?"  
  
"Go." Nodding, Arukenimon grabbed Sneasel and left. "Now, how shall we   
  
proceed?" As he spoke, Demon's amulet fell to the floor. A second later, so   
  
did the ornate robe.  
  
A half minute after that, the hall vanished, ripped apart by an explosion.  
  
==Human World  
  
Omnimon pulled back. Both he and Phoenixmon were battered, unable to keep up   
  
with Imperialdramon's speed. "It's no good; he's forcing us back to the city!"  
  
"We have to keep fighting!" Phoenixmon retorted. "If we lose, he'll destroy   
  
everything!"  
  
Appearing in front of the two Digimon, Imperialdramon smirked. "Good idea.   
  
Let's start with you!" Both the cannon on his back and his mouth started to   
  
glow. "FATED RUIN!" The two blasts shot at Omnimon and Phoenixmon.  
  
Omnimon fired his cannon, trying to stop the blast. Phoenixmon added her   
  
flames, trying to help. Slowly, the energy blast crept towards them. Dimly,   
  
Phoenixmon heard Sora screaming for the two Digimon to move.   
  
"Elemental Bolt!"  
  
"Celestial Edict!"  
  
"Oh, you two again." Imperialdramon said wearily, looking at Komainumon and   
  
Paildramon, who rushed to join the fight. "Hmm, four of you against one of me.   
  
You lose."  
  
==  
  
"So you think?" Mewtwo asked Baihumon. He arched an eyebrow. Was it him, or   
  
was Baihumon's image fading, just a bit. "Is Demon destroyed or not?"  
  
"Probably not. If I know him, he's got an out somewhere. Look, I don't have   
  
much time left. The digicore can only hold my spirit for so long."  
  
"It seems I have little choice."   
  
"Bull. If you don't wish to become a guardian, just tell me now. But I do   
  
think that you're the best one suited for the job."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Look, ever since the Digital World contacted the Pokemon world, both have been   
  
irrevocably changed. Our world's geography mirrors yours now. Every week,   
  
another pokemon gains characteristics of Digimon. I think I felt one more   
  
pokemon change just before Imperialdramon's blast finished me off. It would   
  
comfort me to know that a pokemon is present in the Digital World, able to make   
  
sure that the two worlds can live in harmony.  
  
"The day is coming, Mewtwo, when everyone will have a partner on the Human   
  
world. Maybe not now, but soon, I can feel it. And I think that will happen on   
  
the Pokemon world too. And you're better equipped to handle it than that stuffy   
  
old codger Ebonwumon."  
  
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. All his life, he had been searching for some meaning   
  
to his life, a purpose. Could this be it?  
  
"This is not, then, merely an attempt to annoy the northern guardian."  
  
Baihumon smirked. "Call it a pleasant bonus."  
  
Mewtwo returned the expression. "Then I accept."  
  
"Good. Okay, now the hard part. This will feel a little...weird."  
  
==Real World  
  
Tai, Matt, and Sora ran over to the four digidestined who had just arrived.   
  
"How did you get here?" Tai asked.  
  
"Power boost from the other guardians." Davis explained. "And I think you could   
  
use all the help you could get."  
  
"What about the others?" Sora asked.  
  
"There was only enough power to bring back Komainumon and Paildramon." June   
  
replied. "Everyone else is too worn out. In other words,-"  
  
"We're it." Kyle completed. A short distance away, the four Digimon attacked   
  
Imperialdramon, all of their attacks striking the dragon.  
  
"This isn't working." Davis growled.  
  
Ken nodded. "He's right. We need more power. Imperialdramon is too powerful   
  
for our normal attacks to do any good."  
  
"Tai!" Omnimon said. "If you have a plan, now's the time! I think I'm losing   
  
my strength."  
  
"After a power boost from Azulongmon?" Davis blurted.  
  
"It's harder for Digimon to exist here, especially when they digivolve.   
  
Imperialdramon must be using part of his power to keep the digiports closed.   
  
It's like cutting off your air supply." Tai looked grim.  
  
"He has the power to warp space and time like that?" Ken gasped. Sora gasped;   
  
looking up, everyone saw Phoenixmon fall, struck by Imperialdramon's Positron   
  
laser. There was a bright flash, and Biyomon appeared, still unconscious. Sora   
  
ran over to her.  
  
"No!" Tai yelled, running after her. Imperialdramon saw the opening, and flew   
  
at the two humans. Omnimon twisted, dropped, and drove his sword into the   
  
dragon's cannon. The blade punched through the armour, and struck   
  
Imperialdramon's back. Howling, Imperialdramon's neck bent around, bit into   
  
Omnimon's gun-arm, and pulled the warrior off, slamming him into the harbour.  
  
"You die! FATED RUIN!" Desperately, Omnimon swung his blade up, trying to   
  
block the attack. He disrupted the blast, but smaller arcs of energy shot out   
  
into the city. Matt winced, hearing the sound of buildings explode. He hoped   
  
everyone was evacuated by now.  
  
==  
  
"Focus!" Baihumon's ghost implored Mewtwo, writhing as energy surged through   
  
him. "If you cannot control this energy, then it will destroy you!"  
  
"All my life, people have tried to make me call them master. This energy shall   
  
be no different!"  
  
"It's not about mastery! It's not about power! The guardians are not the most   
  
powerful Digimon in the digital world!" This revelation nearly startled Mewtwo   
  
out of his trance. Baihumon went on. "We forgot that, and tried to match the   
  
Dark Masters. We lost, too proud to admit that we might need help!   
  
"We were the guardians because we were wise. We advised others, never trying to   
  
rule them. If mastery is your only goal, then you'll never survive the   
  
transformation! Mewtwo!"  
  
Mewtwo withdrew into himself. Until now, his whole life had been survival, by   
  
either hiding or taking control of the situation. To let go of that now was the   
  
hardest thing he ever had to do.  
  
Somewhere inside of himself, Mewtwo heard a small voice, telling him to let go.   
  
"Is that your influence, Mew?" he asked no one, remembering his travels with his   
  
'brother'. "Is this what it is like to be you? Is this why you have always   
  
remained so innocent?"  
  
Baihumon's eyes went wide for a second, then closed. "It is done. Farewell   
  
Mewtwo. I know that you will do well." With that, the spirit of Baihumon   
  
vanished, as light filled the featureless void he and Mewtwo had so recently   
  
shared.  
  
==Pallet Town  
  
Kari stepped back. "What's happening?"  
  
Gennai looked at Mewtwo, dumbfounded. "I...I don't know!" His eyes went wide   
  
as the glow around Mewtwo increased. "GET DOWN!" Everyone there ducked, as a   
  
flash of energy washed over everything in the area. When they got up a second   
  
later, Mewtwo was gone.  
  
==Primary Village  
  
Azulongmon felt it first, followed by the other two guardians. He spotted the   
  
beam of light shooting to the location of the destroyed Destiny Stone, and was   
  
able to see the formation of a small crystal, weak now, but quickly gathering   
  
power, stabilising that part of the Digital World. For a second, he thought   
  
that Baihumon had survived, then saw that the power's form was subtly different.  
  
==Real World  
  
With a last gasp, Omnimon fell, becoming Agumon and Gabumon, both overcome by   
  
the beating that Imperialdramon had delivered to them. Komainumon and   
  
Paildramon stood between the two rookie Digimon and Imperialdramon, bracing for   
  
the next attack.  
  
"Please, is this really necessary?" Imperialdramon asked. "Omnimon and   
  
Phoenixmon were unable to defeat me, and they were Mega level Digimon. What   
  
hope do a pair of puny DNA Digimon stand?"  
  
"Won't know until we try." Paildramon grunted, aiming his cannons.  
  
"We're fighting to defend this world from you." Komainumon added. "Losing is   
  
not an option."  
  
"Pathetic."  
  
"Shows what you know!" Davis yelled. "If you ask me, you're the pathetic one!"  
  
"He's right!" Ken added. "What will you do when you've destroyed everything   
  
here? There's no point to this!"  
  
"There is." Imperialdramon replied. "There are worlds which you have not   
  
imagined out there, countless other realms to conquer and rule. Once I claim   
  
the power of the Digital World, I shall use it to travel where and when I will,   
  
and usher in a reign of darkness over everything!"  
  
"You're nuts!" June cried.  
  
"I can't believe that anything that came from a pokemon could be so monstrous!"   
  
Kyle yelled.  
  
"And you're one to talk, Ellison?" Imperialdramon taunted.  
  
"YES! Arcanine and Eevee help fight for a better world, and I'm proud to stand   
  
with them! When it's all over, who do you have to turn to?"  
  
"I need no one." Imperialdramon aimed at the humans, deciding to shut them up   
  
by simply evaporating them.  
  
"What you need is a good sized boot to the head!" Paildramon yelled. "Desperado   
  
Blaster!"  
  
"And we're the ones to deliver it! Dragon Fang!"  
  
Imperialdramon simply took the blows, feeling nothing. "Is that what your   
  
righteous fury has to offer? Hmph." He sent two low powered blasts at the DNA   
  
Digimon, wounding them but not quite knocking them out. He then aimed a Giga   
  
Death blast at them, deciding to end it now. "Well, I may be in danger of being   
  
bored to death, but I think I am willing to face that hazard. Farewell."  
  
"Farewell." Mewtwo said, appearing in-between the two DNA Digimon.  
  
"Oh, come now. What is the point of..." Imperialdramon stopped, staring at   
  
Mewtwo. "You've grown stronger."  
  
"In some ways."  
  
"It doesn't matter. I am a Dark Type pokemon! Your psychic powers mean nothing   
  
to me! But if you're so eager to die-"  
  
"Enough have died." Mewtwo interrupted. "And I am aware of your Dark nature.   
  
So I will simply allow those who can fight you to do so more effectively."   
  
Mewtwo held a paw out, concentrating. A moment later, a small crystal appeared.   
  
Imperialdramon gasped, recognising it.  
  
A digicore. Suddenly, everything became clear to Imperialdramon. "He knew..."   
  
he started to say, but got no further. The digicore ignited, beams striking the   
  
digivices of the the two DNA teams, as well as their Digimon.  
  
"My digivice!" June gasped, looking at Kyle.  
  
Davis looked at Paildramon, instinctively aiming his digivice at the DNA   
  
Digimon. A second later, the other three kids did as well. Imperialdramon's   
  
cry of denial went unheard.  
  
"Komainumon...Paildramon...Mega-Jogress Digivolve to...IMPERIALDRAMON!"   
  
Everyone watching the battle gasped as a second dragon appeared. It was similar   
  
to the first Imperialdramon, but this one's lines seemed sleeker, and the skin   
  
was light blue, not the dusky colour of the evil Imperialdramon's.  
  
"Mega...Jogress...?" Matt and Tai gasped.  
  
"I think we just got upstaged." Agumon said, looking at the new dragon. Then   
  
everything else was lost as the two dragons went at it, biting and clawing.   
  
Such was the evil Imperialdramon's rage at this turn of events that he did not   
  
bother with energy attacks; he went straight in with teeth and claws. The   
  
second Imperialdramon was only too eager to respond in kind.  
  
The first round of fighting involved the evil Imperialdramon trying to hurl the   
  
good one into the ground. However, the second one managed to reverse the hold,   
  
converting it into what Kyle recognised as a Seismic Toss, driving the evil   
  
dragon into the ground. The shock nearly knocked over the digidestined watching   
  
the battle, and caused a few already badly damaged buildings to collapse. The   
  
evil one recovered, vanished, and tried to blindside the good dragon with a   
  
tackle, but the second dragon vanished, evading the attack.  
  
After another few minutes of mid-air wrestling, the second Imperialdramon pulled   
  
back. "Guys, this is nuts!" Exveemon's voice said inside Imperialdramon's mind.   
  
"There's four of us in here, we should be able to take this creep!"  
  
"He's right!" Leomon's voice replied. "There is something inside of us that can   
  
help! Everyone, focus your power! For Tokyo!"  
  
"For the Digital World!" Stingmon called.  
  
"For Baihumon!" Arcanine roared. Suddenly, the good Imperialdramon glowed   
  
white.  
  
"Imperialdramon, mode change to...Fighter mode!" The good Imperialdramon   
  
suddenly stood upright, its rear legs lengthening, and its forelegs   
  
reconfiguring themselves into arms. The back-mounted cannon vanished, and   
  
reappeared on his right arm. The neck seemed to vanish, and atop the torso, a   
  
stern face appeared. "Four on one, Imperialdramon!" Fighter Imperialdramon   
  
challenged. "You lose!"  
  
"Giga Death!" The evil Imperialdramon launched an attack.  
  
"Positron Laser!" Fighter Imperialdramon's attack stopped the energy ball,   
  
punching through it and nearly striking Imperialdramon.  
  
"He stopped that attack without any problem!" Ken gasped. "Fighter Mode must   
  
increase Imperialdramon's power to incredible levels!"  
  
"Meaning he's more than a match for that oversized jerk! GO GET HIM!" Davis   
  
shouted. "Send that wannabe reptile packing!"  
  
"I'll assume you meant him." Exveemon's voice came from Fighter Imperialdramon.   
  
"Okay, you can leave quietly, or you can be made to leave." This time, it was   
  
Leomon's voice.  
  
"You...you...YOU SELF RIGHTEOUS POSER! NO ONE ORDERS ME AROUND!" The evil   
  
Imperialdramon was nearly incoherent, as he saw victory slowly slipping away   
  
from him. "DEMON DID NOT, AND NEITHER WILL YOU!" he thundered. "Try and   
  
survive my ultimate attack! Fated Ruin!"  
  
Fighter Imperialdramon nodded, and his arm-cannon vanished, reappearing as a   
  
larger cannon, gripped with both his hands and braced against his chest. "Giga   
  
Crusher!" he called, as he released a ball of energy similar to Imperialdramon's   
  
Giga Death.  
  
The two blasts met, each warring against the other, both Digimon pouring all the   
  
energy they could, as the light from the attacks grew brighter. Finally, it   
  
reached a breaking point, and exploded, throwing Imperialdramon away. "That   
  
must have done it..." he gasped, drained of energy. As he spoke, he shuddered,   
  
the remaining power of the Destiny Stone rebelling again, breaking his   
  
concentration. It proved fatal, as Fighter Imperialdramon, unscathed by the   
  
blast, flew right at Imperialdramon, massive energy beam coming out of his arm   
  
cannon.  
  
"Positron...Saber!" The blast sliced right through Imperialdramon, throwing   
  
Imperialdramon into such agony as he had never felt before. He seemed to   
  
explode, though Kyle and Davis could just make out Magnatar appear, and vanish   
  
just as the light faded.  
  
As the light cleared, Fighter Imperialdramon glowed, and broke into four spheres   
  
of light. Growlithe, Elecmon, Veemon, and Wormmon all appeared in the arms of   
  
their human partners. Unable to hold it in, Davis let out a wild whoop. Kyle   
  
and June joined in.  
  
"We saw everything!" Yolei called, running to the group with Kari, TK, and Izzy.   
  
"That was incredible!" Ken, caught up by Davis' mood, turned, saw Yolei, walked   
  
up and kissed her. It lasted for half a second before he broke off, stammering   
  
apologies.  
  
Yolei pushed Ken away, face red. "If you're going to kiss me, Ken Ichijouji,"   
  
she said fiercely, "you could at least do it right!" So saying, she went on to   
  
demonstrate the proper technique. They broke after a half-minute. "See?" she   
  
whispered. Dumbly, Ken nodded, speechless.  
  
A low moan snapped everyone out of their mood. They ran over to Kari, who was   
  
staring in mute horror down the road. The apartment that Kari and Tai lived in   
  
had been leveled, by one of the stray energy blasts from Omnimon's battle with   
  
Imperialdramon.  
  
==2 hours later.  
  
As ideas went, it was one of the odder ones that the digidestined had, and Davis   
  
hadn't even suggested it.  
  
"Your place?" Tai asked, staring at Kyle.  
  
Kyle nodded. "Sure. We can bring your parents through, just like my dad did."   
  
Miraculously, there had been no fatalities, everyone near the battle-zone having   
  
enough sense to get clear of the city; Venom Myotismon's rampage had not been   
  
forgotten. There had been a lot of property damage, and all the shelters had   
  
been full.  
  
Tai's father looked at Kyle. "I thought you needed a digivice to go to the   
  
digital world."  
  
"No." Izzy replied. "Kyle's world is like ours, with smaller monsters."  
  
"There's plenty of room, and Dad won't mind. I'll go set it up with him."   
  
Tai's father nodded, and Kyle left.  
  
Mrs. Kamiya looked up. "Well, when we saw that giant dragon appear, we knew   
  
that this might happen, so we grabbed what we could and took it with us. It's   
  
mostly clothes and a few books, though."  
  
Tai nodded. "I wish we could have done more." Davis said, depressed.  
  
"You saved the city." Tai's father said. "And probably the whole world, too.   
  
We'll just have to rebuild." He looked around. "Has anyone seen Kari?"  
  
"She's with Izzy." June answered. "I think she's...still in shock over this."  
  
==Stone Town  
  
"Sure, bring them over." Mikhail Ellison said to his son. "Plenty of room.   
  
Just give me a half hour to get the guest room ready. Uh, what about Tai and   
  
Kari."  
  
Kyle shrugged. "Well, Tai and I can share a room, and the living room sofa is a   
  
fold-out, right? I'm glad you didn't listen to me when I said not to get it."  
  
"Always look for the sale item." Mikhail said philosophically. "Alright, we'll   
  
do that. At least you won't be able to sneak June in here anymore."  
  
"I don't!" Kyle protested.  
  
"Sure son, right. Oh, you got a call. Someone named Jensen?"  
  
Kyle blinked, then recognized the name. "Right, him. I'll take care of it,   
  
don't worry."  
  
"Sure, he said any time this week. What's up?"  
  
"It's...personal, dad."  
  
"Ah, June. Okay then, you go back and tell everyone, and I'll start   
  
straightening things up here." Kyle nodded and left for the pokemon center   
  
computer. Mikhail sighed, and picked up the phone, dialing a number. "Yeah, I   
  
told him. Look, when he shows up, don't tell him I covered half of it, alright?   
  
Yeah, he would break himself to get it. Just tell him it was on sale. Right.   
  
See ya later."  
  
==That night.  
  
Kari looked out the window, still not sure how she felt. She had, with the   
  
exception of two books and a suitcase of clothes, lost everything she ever   
  
owned. In a corner of the room, Gatomon slept quietly, exhausted by the day's   
  
events.  
  
She shivered a bit. Right now, she was wearing one of Kyle's dad's old painting   
  
shirts and a worn-out pair of sweatpants. It went down to her knees, was dark   
  
blue, and had small splotches of paint on it. She didn't have anything else for   
  
pajamas. Sora had promised that she'd talk to Mimi and that the two would get   
  
some extra clothes for her together, but that could take a day or two.  
  
Someone put a blanket around her shoulders. Turning, she saw who it was, even   
  
in the dim light. "Izzy?"  
  
"Mr. Ellison gave me a key, and my mom said it would be okay if I stayed here   
  
tonight. Everyone's worried about you."  
  
"I'm fine. Really."  
  
"Kari." Izzy said firmly. "What is it?"  
  
"Nothing. It's just...I can't. I don't have the right to feel bad." Kari   
  
started sobbing a bit. "How many Digimon lost everything because of our fight?   
  
Or people in our world, Izzy? Because we couldn't keep all the evil Digimon   
  
away?" She sniffed. "It's never going to end, is it? Oh, you must think I'm   
  
horrible, talking like this."  
  
"Not at all. When you've saved the world at least twice, I figure you've earned   
  
the right to be a little selfish. Just let it out. You know Tai can sleep   
  
through anything."  
  
Kari managed a half-laugh, half-sob at Izzy's joke, and the two just held each   
  
other for a while.  
  
It was Izzy that heard the footsteps. Kari picked it up a second later.   
  
"Hide!" she hissed, getting back into the fold-out bed. Izzy hid behind a   
  
recliner a few feet from the bed.  
  
Kyle, carrying a pillow and what looked like a dark green dressing gown, trudged   
  
down the stairs, still half asleep. "Chainsaw Kamiya my foot...I'll give him a   
  
chainsaw tomorrow..." he muttered, going down to the basement.  
  
Kari watched Kyle go down the stairs, then looked up the hallway. Faintly, she   
  
could hear Tai snoring away, unaware of anything. She glanced at Izzy, and the   
  
two shared a smile. Despite everything that had happened, it was good to know   
  
that some things never changed.  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Magnatar pulled himself towards the throne room, still wincing from the   
  
injuries. Surprisingly, it was quiet, there was no sign of anyone. It was   
  
clear that there had been a terrific battle, even from the outside of the   
  
castle. Something had torn off part of the wall, making getting into the castle   
  
a challenge.  
  
"I will recover. And when I do...they'll pay." Magnatar muttered.  
  
A figure strode towards him, slowly clapping his hands. "Fine sentiment." Demon   
  
said sarcastically.  
  
"D-Demon...How?"  
  
"I merely used a control spire to make a duplicate of myself. Did you really   
  
think I didn't know of your thoughts of treachery? Now, let's see what you   
  
managed to accomplish." He started counting off points on one of his hands.   
  
"The pokemon Mewtwo is now a guardian, the digidestined are able to summon   
  
Imperialdramon, all of the guardians are now aware of your power, and my forces   
  
have been decimated by your attack on the pokemon world. Oh, and Arukenimon and   
  
Sneasel are most vexed with you.  
  
"Now, how to discipline you...?"  
  
==Next Episode  
  
Davis Hey, Davis here! Matt's throwing a big concert to help rebuild part of   
  
Tokyo, and Ken's throwing a Christmas get together at his place, and all the   
  
digidestined are invited. Too bad Ryo's not going to be there, as he's   
  
drumming. What, Kyle and June aren't going to be there either? Huh? He...He's   
  
WHAT? I'll kill that jerk!  
  
June Davis, you leave Kyle alone! I haven't even heard what he's had to say   
  
yet!  
  
Matt Hey, it's the big Christmas bash next time on Digimon: Digicross, episode   
  
number 35  
  
'Matt goes old-school!'  
  
Tai Gee, self-promote much?  
  
Matt Hey, sit back and watch the master!  
  
Mimi I hope you will, Matt. 


	37. Digicross TV Series 36 'Matt goes oldsch...

Kari's nose wrinkled. It didn't usually do that at this time of the morning. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Kari remembered that, only yesterday, their house had been destroyed by the evil Imperialdramon in a fight between it, Omnimon, Phoenixmon, and another Imperialdramon that Davis, Ken, Kyle, and June had been able to summon by DNA digivolving their two DNA Digimon, Komainumon and Paildramon.  
  
The fit of depression she felt was abated when she looked across the room. In an old recliner, Izzy was sleeping lightly, his school jacket being used as an improvised blanket. Losing everything still hurt, but she felt like, with Izzy here, she could handle it.   
  
Checking her watch, she saw that it was 8:30 am, then remembered what had woken her up. Listening, she could hear something coming from the kitchen. Curious, she got up and walked over.  
  
"Oh," Kyle said, looking up from the stove, "I hope I didn't wake you." Kyle was hunched over the stove, adding several more pancakes to what was already a large stack. "I thought I'd just make breakfast for everyone."  
  
Kari blinked. "Kyle? How long have you been up?"  
  
"About an hour. Believe me, you don't want Dad cooking for you."  
  
"Cody told me. You didn't have to do all this."  
  
"Hey, you're guests here. Besides, it's no problem, really."  
  
Kari smiled again. Living here might not be so bad, she decided. "So, that's Tai taken care of. What about the rest of us?"  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross Episode 35  
  
'Matt goes old-school!'  
  
Song translations courtesy of:  
  
Animelyrics.com (Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed))  
  
Escadevotion http://www.livejournal.com/users/escadevotion/343847.html (Full Metal Alchemist - Melissa (op)  
  
Tales of Phantasia Soundtrack (Happy Happy! - Arche Image Song; see? I CAN buy anime CDs)  
  
And:  
  
The Digimon Encyclopedia http://www.digibros.net/~digipedia/ (A LOT of name information)  
  
The Digicross Mailing list groups.yahoo.com/digicross - spellchecking and a LOT of support  
  
'Random Andy' - http://www.randomandy.tk/  
  
==  
  
Tai leaned back in the chair, full. "Wow. Can all pokemon trainers cook that well? I haven't eaten that well in…well, ever."  
  
Yuuko Kamiya raised an eyebrow. "I make you breakfast when I can, Tai. Okay, tofu doesn't go so well with eggs, but at least I try!" Tai subsided, getting a laugh out of Kari. "So, Izzy, did you sleep well last night?", she asked, omitting the 'well away from my daughter' part.  
  
"Izzy slept across the room in the recliner, mom." Kari answered. "He'd never do anything improper." She threw a glance at Tai, who had been eyeing Izzy throughout breakfast.  
  
"Just checking dear." Yuuko Kamiya looked out the small kitchen window. "Thank you again for letting us stay here. I know it must have been an awful burden and all."  
  
"Never." Mikhail answered, waving a hand. "This place usually gets quiet around the holidays. It's nice to have lots of people here for a change." Kyle sighed as his father started on the 'my son is a grown man, and has decided to abandon me' speech. Kari and Tai snickered at the whole spectacle.  
  
"Well, you've managed to do well for yourself." Susumu, Tai's dad said. "Umm, one question.   
  
Those small…walking turnips…?"  
  
"They're called Oddish. Don't worry, they're pretty friendly. Most of the pokemon around here are, as long as you don't startle or scare them." Mikhail grinned. "That usually means charging at them with a stick shouting 'you're mine!'."  
  
"I was THREE, dad." Kyle said darkly. A knock at the door spared him further embarrassment. "I'll get it. And anything he says about me isn't true."  
  
"I'm all ears." Kari said sweetly, making Kyle shudder.   
  
Kyle ran for the door, opening it. Standing in the doorway was TK, Sora, and their parents. All were holding large bags. "Oh, welcome. Please, come in."  
  
"Such a polite young man." Sora's mom Toshiko said. "Maybe it's a good thing Tai's staying with you."  
  
"Mom!" Sora protested.  
  
"Don't mind them." Haruhiko Takenouchi sighed. "We managed to round up a few things for the Kamiyas. Are they up?"  
  
"Yeah, they're just finishing breakfast now. I can get you something if you want."  
  
Toshiko feigned surprise. "Oh, my. Sora, do you think June would consider trading?"  
  
"MOM!"  
  
==  
  
The parents were all off talking and swapping stories. "I had no idea they formed a club." Kyle said.  
  
Tai nodded. "Yeah. I think it was your mom's idea, wasn't it Izzy?"  
  
Izzy nodded. "They said it would be easier to keep track of us if we decided to go save the world again. It's easier than hiding Tentomon, that's for sure."  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Kari asked, stepping out of the bathroom. She was wearing one of the outfits that Sora had brought for her. It was a bit loose, but not uncomfortably so. "It's awfully….pink."  
  
"Mimi picked it out." Sora replied.  
  
"I'm not surprised." Kari answered. It was a knee-length skirt, a loose blouse, and socks that went up to the hem of her dress. "But if Izzy likes it…" Izzy mumbled something, not looking at her.  
  
"It's fine." Tai stated, getting a laugh out of Kari and Sora. "Isn't it, TK?"  
  
"Hm?" TK asked, looking away from where the parents were talking. "Yeah, it looks fine. Hey, listen, Ken was thinking about holding a Christmas party for us on the 24th, interested?"  
  
Sora looked up. "Oh, no. That's when Matt's having his concert."  
  
"Concert?" Tai and Kari asked.  
  
TK smacked his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. Yeah, Matt's band is going to be playing in the park near Highton View on the 24th ."  
  
"Well, how about the new kids go to Ken's party, and we old-timers go to the concert?" Tai suggested. "I think Sora had something in mind."  
  
"Nothing major." Sora replied innocently. "What about you, Kyle?"  
  
"Uh…I have plans, actually…?" Kyle mumbled, blushing.  
  
"Oh?" Sora asked. "Anything involving June, perchance?" Kyle stammered.  
  
"Oh come on, everyone." Kari said. "Leave Kyle alone, if he doesn't want to tell us, that's fine." Kyle looked relieved. "Of course, then I'd have to tell June about that incident with the bottle of corn syrup when Kyle was two…"  
  
"Don't you DARE!"  
  
==Tokyo  
  
June sat on her bed, feeling bored, of all things. Fighting Imperialdramon had been terrifying, but, now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling a bit disconnected, not sure what to do next.  
  
"June, phone!" her mom called. "It's Kyle!" There was some sounds. "No, don't you dare listen in, Davis. Or you either, Kenta, I'm warning both of you." Fighting back a laugh, June left her room and picked up the phone her mother was holding.  
  
"Hello? Yes. Oh? One second, I'll check." June put her hand on the receiver. "Mom, Kyle's asking me to dinner on the 24th. Is that alright? He said I'd be home by about 10:00."  
  
"Oh, June! That sounds so romantic! Yes, of course you can go!" her mother said, ignoring the strangled noises her husband and son were making. "Just make sure you're back on time, alright?"  
  
June nodded. "She said I could go! Yes, I'll see you on the 24th! A restaurant? Ooh, I'll have to dress up!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father turning green. "Okay, I'll see you then, Kyle." She hung up the phone, all smiles.  
  
==  
  
Matt hung up the phone, depressed. "Everything OK?" Hiroaki, his father asked.  
  
"Mimi can't come on the 24th." he answered. "Her parents heard about the monster attack and said if she came anywhere near Japan, she'd be grounded until she's your age."  
  
"Ouch." Mr. Ishida winced. "Well, her parents were a bit jittery after Myotismon attacked. Still, there's no reason you can't sneak through the digital world and go visit her on the 25th or 26th."  
  
Matt blinked. "Dad?"  
  
"Come on. Like I could stop you anyway. Look, Matt, just…be careful, alright? Your mother and I…Just don't do something you'll regret, alright?"  
  
"Like me?" Matt asked, voice suddenly hard.  
  
"Never." His father replied, voice matching Matt's. "I never once regretted being your father, or TK's. It's…ahh, I'm no good at this."  
  
Matt nodded. "I understand dad. Thanks. And don't worry, Gabumon's about as good a chaperone as you can get."  
  
"I don't know. That big red bug Kyle has might be better…Look, if you see TK before I do, tell him I said Merry Christmas, alright?"  
  
==Dark Ocean  
  
Demon scowled. All his plans had been thwarted by two pokemon, all told. He had so carefully staged the events that would lead to the death of Baihumon, and had succeeded, but not before that overgrown kitty-cat had passed on his power to that cursed Mewtwo. Worse, his own minion, Metal Devidramon, had revolted and stolen the power of one of the Destiny Stones for himself, trying to seize power.   
  
Sneasel walked up to Demon. "Sir? The portals are ready."  
  
Demon looked up. "Good. Set the first one for December 24th, downtown Tokyo. They'll still be recovering from Imperialdramon's last visit. Who do we have left?" The question was not lightly worded; when Mummymon had escaped and digivolved, he had laid waste to a lot of the forces of the Dark Ocean before being dispatched. "Set the portals to cover the entire planet. That will buy us some time to try and recover from this mess."  
  
Sneasel bowed and left. Outside of Demon's chamber, she encountered Metal Devidramon. He had spent the night at the mercy of one of Demon's chief tormentors, a particularly sadistic Ice Devimon. During one of his session, he had managed to digivolve from Magnatar back to Metal Devidramon, and had gone on to tear the torturer apart. "Is Arukenimon ready?"  
  
The digimon bowed gruffly. "She is ready. Though I hope this plan comes off better than our lord's previous attempt."  
  
"The plan worked perfectly until someone allowed Mummymon to get out. I can't prove anything, but I have my eye on you. You fared little better against the digidestined than any of us did."  
  
"What you have are dreams and fantasies, Sneasel. I was beaten, but they didn't finish the job. And I'm more than enough to take care of you if you start causing trouble. Your precious Arukenimon isn't here to chaperone you."  
  
Sneasel unsheathed her claws. "Try it, if you dare. You don't have all that Destiny Stone power running through you now, and you're on Demon's short list. One more failure and you've had it. I make it a point to stay useful." Sneasel walked off. Metal Devidramon glared after her, but said nothing.  
  
==Pokemon World  
  
Ken stared at Ryo, a bit disappointed. "You can't come?" Ryo had come to visit Ken at his place, and Ken had mentioned the Christmas party he had planned.  
  
Ryo shook his head. "I'd love to, but I already promised Matt that I'd be at the concert. Sorry."  
  
Ken shrugged. "It's alright. It sounds like it'll be quite a show."  
  
"Oh, it will be. It's a shame you won't be there for it, we have a few surprises planned. A few that Matt isn't expecting." He added with a grin. "Listen, why don't we meet on the 25th? We can go return all the stuff that purple-haired cutie is gonna get you." Ken blushed.  
  
Minomon, resting on Ken's shoulder, decided to lend a hand. "Oh? And you're not going to be busy with Caryl? I hear Kyle's taking June out on Christmas Eve, after all. Maybe I should let Caryl know." It was Ken's turn to laugh as Ryo turned red. "I can just hear her telling off her poor Ryo-chan now, Ken."  
  
"Okay Minomon, that's enough." Ken said, gasping.  
  
"Yeah, I deserved that." Ryo sighed, recovering. "So, 25th, say about four-ish?"  
  
"I'd like that. And feel free to bring Caryl."  
  
"Funny, Ichijouji, real funny."  
  
==Lansdale, USA  
  
"Come on, PLEASE?"  
  
"No, I am NOT going to a Christmas baseball game."  
  
"Well it'd be more fun than some boring old restaurant!"  
  
"*sigh* Only an uncute tomboy would think about a baseball game on Christmas."  
  
"Shows what you know, pervert!"  
  
Silence. Then:  
  
"Two O'clock?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Kyle Evanick hung up the phone. "Tsukaimon, am I losing it?"  
  
==Newfoundland, Canada  
  
"Stuart?"  
  
"Yeah mom?"  
  
"Look, I have no problem with your…pet."  
  
"He's a Digimon. Calling him a pet makes him mad."  
  
"Right, of course. But, his Christmas stocking is bigger than he is."  
  
"*sigh* I'll talk to him. Greedy little reptile, I ought to…"  
  
==Orange Archipelago  
  
Edward looked at the egg fragments, stunned. Speechless, he watched as the newly born Lugia stretched its wings, cooed, and looked up at him.  
  
"Merry Christmas." Was the only thing he could think to say.  
  
==New Zealand  
  
Caryl studied the sheet she had printed out. Sora had asked for a favour, which Caryl was only to happy to agree to. Now, she just had to figure out a way to get there without alarming anyone...  
  
==American Midwest.  
  
Seth looked at the tree. "Not too bad."  
  
Wizardmon bowed. "Thank you. It is my first Christmas in this reality."  
  
"Really? What's Christmas like in the Digital World?"  
  
Wizardmon thought about it. "You know, this will be my first Christmas ever. Tell me, do you have any more of those calendars?"  
  
Groaning, Seth palmed his face. "You're only supposed to open one door at a time…"  
  
==Pokemon World  
  
Crystal sat at her desk, staring at the digiegg in her digivice. "TK…" In her hand, she held a small box. She had heard that TK liked to stay up late, so she got him a small book-light and a bookmark to go with it.  
  
Kurt hopped up into Crystal's lap. "He'll like it. You could give him a piece of last week's casserole, and he'd like it. If it came from you, that is."  
  
"Kurt…he gave me his digiegg. How am I supposed to top that?"  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. He's not the type who keeps track of things like that." Arching an eyebrow he added "and that kiss you planted on him when he let you keep it was pretty good payment, from what I saw."  
  
Crystal blushed. "Quit bringing that up, will you?"  
  
==Stone Town  
  
Tai looked out the window in Kyle's room. Despite everything everyone else had said, he knew that he didn't snore.  
  
It was now two days since their home had been destroyed, and the Kamiyas were adjusting to life here in the pokemon world. Through the slightly open door, he could hear his parents talking.  
  
"So, any word on when we can go home?" his mother asked.  
  
"Nothing yet. They'll have to take the whole building down, and build it back up from the foundation. Could be months." His father sighed.  
  
"That's terrible. But at least it's nice here."  
  
"It is. Listen, if things don't work out, maybe...maybe we could try moving here?"  
  
Tai's eyes went wide. *That* was unexpected. He decided to enter the kitchen and ask his father when he had thought of moving here, when he noticed a small box on Kyle's dresser. It looked fancy. On a whim, he opened it, and gasped when he saw what was inside.  
  
"You...didn't see that, alright?" Kyle asked, entering his room.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Tai replied, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to look, it's just...wow, you're not...?"  
  
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, I think I am."  
  
"Well, good luck, then." He's nuts, Tai thought. Wait'll I tell-  
  
"And don't tell Kari. Or anyone."  
  
"Darn."  
  
==New York  
  
Mimi checked her outfit. Father or no, she was going to be at that concert. Even if Matt didn't know about it yet.  
  
"Mimi?"  
  
"Yes mom?" Mimi answered, keeping her door closed.  
  
"Tell Matt I said hi!"  
  
Mimi gulped. "Yes mom."  
  
==Tokyo, December 24th  
  
It was 10 in the morning, and June was already trembling. "Come on, it's just dinner." Davis said, a bit annoyed.  
  
"Kyle's *taking* me to dinner. And it's going to be in a nice, romantic restaurant!" June smiled as she saw her brother's face go a bit sour.  
  
"Davis!" his mother chided him. "Kyle's your friend too. And what will you do when you start seeing someone?" June kept carefully silent, holding in her laughter as Davis blushed red, prompting his mother to start asking him who he was seeing. Seeing that Davis was going to be busy, she decided to get changed now. Kyle wasn't due to pick her up for a few hours, but she did want to see how she would look.  
  
Half an hour later, June stepped out of her room, wearing a white top, a dark blue dress that went down to her ankles, and a jacket that matched her dress. Around her waist was a wide belt, also dark blue. (If anyone has anything better in mind for her, please, let me know! -ed)  
  
"June, you look lovely!" her mother said, stepping over to her. June curtsied, getting a laugh out of her mother. "You haven't done that since you were eight years old. And I seem to recall you saying you'd never do it again."  
  
"That was after Davis snuck up behind me and kicked me."  
  
"Oh, he was just a baby then. It's not my fault that I just happened to accidentally unplug the TV when he was around. For a week." Akiko Motomiya sighed again. "You've grown up so much. Even if a lot of it was wasted chasing around after that Ishida boy."  
  
"It was three weeks, mother. Besides, that's when I met Kyle."  
  
"Oh, good, then I can blame Matt for this after all." Both of them giggled at that. "You care a lot for Kyle, I can tell. Every time I see you two together, I get a bit jealous. Your father could pick up a thing or two from him."  
  
"Kyle is one of a kind." June agreed. "Uh, mom, there's something I have to tell you. Can you wait here for a second?" Akiko nodded, and June darted back into her room. She came out again a minute later, holding a very confused looking Elecmon. "This is Elecmon, and he and I kind of helped to save Tokyo..."  
  
It took about 20 minutes, but June managed to explain the whole story. Akiko had been very quiet the whole time. "Does your father know about this?"  
  
"No, mom."  
  
"And Davis is one of these digidestined too? And Matt? And Kyle?" June nodded. "Well, if your father found out, he'd probably ground you for the next ten years." She grinned conspiratorially. "But then, your father was never very practical. And I'm glad I know what's been making Davis act more mature lately." Relieved, June leaned forward and hugged Akiko tightly.  
  
==Highton View Park  
  
It was only a few hours before the concert started. Matt sighed, watching the workers set up the equipment. A few feet away, Ryo was tuning up a guitar. "Snap out of it, will ya? Izzy's almost as good at the sound board as Yolei. Don't tell me you're getting stage fright now?" He leaned over. "Hey, you know Mimi would come if she could. It's not like you were going to serenade her or something. Not with that voice."  
  
"What's wrong with my voice?" Matt asked.  
  
"You sound like an Exploud with laryngitis (No, it's not pretty -ed)."  
  
"Ha, ha. Actually, Mimi wanted to do a solo..."  
  
"Hmph. And being the girlfriend of the bandleader would help get her on stage. Well, she is better looking than the regular vocalist."  
  
"One more crack and you'll be eating that guitar, Akiyama."  
  
"Okay, I'll quit." Ryo said, holding up a hand. "So, who else is gonna be playing, after we're done?"  
  
"Some band called Random Andy." Matt replied. "Apparently, they're going to play a single from their CD called 'Smile'. Hope you don't mind the competition."  
  
Ryo pulled out a pair of drumsticks and twirled them in his fingers. "I'll have all the girls screaming. For me, anyway. You don't have a hope with that worn out voice of yours."  
  
"Cute. Well, you're welcome to the attention." Matt looked over the empty audience seats.  
  
==Stone Town, afternoon.  
  
Kyle looked in a mirror, checking his outfit for the nth time. "Kyle, you look fine." his father said, getting a lot of amusement out of the whole thing. Even if he was a bit nervous about what Kyle had planned.  
  
"I know, I just want this to go right." Kyle replied. "Dad? Am I doing the right thing?"  
  
"What do you think?" Mikhail replied. Taking a deep breath, Kyle thought, then nodded. "Good. Can you take 'no' for an answer, if it comes to that?" He smirked, faking a flinch as Kyle glared at him. "Easy, son. Just be prepared, that's all."  
  
Kyle released the breath he had been holding. "Thanks dad."  
  
Mikhail put his arms around Kyle. "Hey, I already said you'll be fine. The reservations are set, and the weatherman said we'd have a light dusting of snow. Just like a movie. Just don't spill anything on her dress, alright?"  
  
"I won't. Will you be alright dad? I know we usually spend the holidays together."  
  
It was Mikhail's turn to blush a bit. "Well, actually, I sort of have a date too."  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Oh, I got invited to that 'Parents of the digidestined' club. Can you take me with you? I need to get to the Takashi house. Nancy's going to show me to the restaurant everyone's meeting at."  
  
"TK's mom? Well, be back by curfew, and don't get caught up in any nasty hazing rituals." Kyle said, grinning. "How will you get home? I'm coming back to this world with June after I pick her up."  
  
"Oh, I'll meet up with Tai and Kari after the concert's done. You bringing any of your pokemon with you?" The Kamiyas had left a few hours ago, Tai going to meet up with the other original digidestined, Kari saying that she'd be making her way to Ken's house. Both parents were on their way over to meet Izzy's parents.  
  
"No, Growlithe's going to stay home. Isn't that RIGHT, Growlithe?"  
  
The puppy pokemon, who had been feigning sleep, looked up guiltily. "Me? No, I'm staying home! Hey, have fun, you two."  
  
"And Eevee?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Upstairs in your room, resting quietly. Now get, you two. Go on, out of the house." Both Ellisons left, not at all surprised that the dog had ordered the humans out of the house. After a few minutes, Growlithe looked out the window. "Okay, they're all gone!"  
  
Kari, with Gatomon, Palmon, Eevee, and Kyle's Ivysaur standing by her, stepped out of the stairwell where she had been hiding. "Okay. Growlithe? Eevee?"  
  
"Heh." Eevee replied. "Whatever he's up to, we'll find out."  
  
Kari nodded. It was odd that Tai, normally a lousy keeper of secrets, had been so tight-lipped lately, especially about why Kyle and June were going to dinner together. She knew Kyle was about to do something big, and she wanted to know what it was. She had a reputation to keep up, after all. "Palmon, Ivysaur, are you ready for the concert?" Both of them nodded. "Don't get too carried away with anything." Kari added with a wink.  
  
==Tokyo, Highton View Park  
  
People streamed in, eager to get away from the terror of the past week. Giant dragons duking it out in the residential area put people on edge. Good time to have a big musical bash, get everyone's mind off the fact that someone tried to stage a live action Godzilla revival in the central business district.  
  
"Tai! Sora! Over here!" Matt yelled. The two ran over, arm in arm. "Glad you could make it!"  
  
"Hey, all the original digidestined are here!" Tai replied. "Kari says she wishes she could come."  
  
"I know, TK told me about Ken's party tonight. Even Yolei's going; Izzy's running the sound board."  
  
"Izzy's here?" Tai asked. "I was wondering where he was."   
  
Sora elbowed Tai. "Will you stop mother-henning Kari already?"   
  
"It's a big brother's duty to make sure his little sister stays out of trouble." Tai sniffed.   
  
Sora rolled her eyes. "We'd better get inside before all the seats are taken." she said, dragging Tai away.  
  
"Don't worry, I had the crew reserve you two front row seats. I don't want you to miss a second of this. Are Agumon and Biyomon here?"  
  
Sora pointed behind Matt. Sneaking in the crew entrance were the two named digimon, both of who waved to Matt as they entered. "We figured it would be better if no one saw our digimon, after everything that happened."   
  
Matt nodded. "Yeah. Charmeleon, Tentomon, and Gabumon are back there now, I'll show Agumon and Biyomon over to them." Tai nodded, and the two entered. Matt stared at the two wistfully, thinking of Mimi. Then he went in, leaving instructions for where to seat Joe when he showed up.  
  
==Stone Town  
  
As predicted, it had started to snow, but it wasn't sticking. Kyle and June, arm in arm, walked down the sidewalk to the restaurant Kyle had made reservations at. "I'm really glad you asked me out, Kyle. After everything, I need to just..."  
  
"I know." Kyle said softly. "I need to get away from battles too."   
  
"So, where are we going?" June asked.  
  
"A quiet little place Dad recommended." Kyle replied. "Candlelight, fireplace in the middle, a small booth."  
  
"You didn't...Kyle, that must have..."   
  
Kyle smiled a bit. "I made the reservation a month ago. It's alright, I can handle it. And I did want to show you a nice time." Kyle had managed to put away some money over his pokemon journey; prize money he had won and the occasional item he had found had given Kyle enough to pay for tonight. It left a sizeable dent in his bank account, but he didn't care.   
  
June embraced him. "Thank you." she whispered, kissing him lightly.  
  
Across the street, Growlithe looked at the two, hoping he wasn't spotted. "Well?" Eevee asked, standing behind him.  
  
"They're just going in. Are you sure we should be doing this? I'm freezing."   
  
Beside them, Elecmon shivered a bit. He had decided to come along as well, concerned (or so he claimed) about what Kyle was planning for June. "Hey, aren't you both fire types?"  
  
"Yes," Eevee replied, "I'll just walk over to Kyle and say 'hey, can you digivolve me to Flareon while I spy on you and June?"  
  
"And the local cops take a dim view of pokemon lighting fires in town." Growlithe muttered. "That's how the Great Pewter City fire got started."  
  
"When that Miltank accidentally kicked a Charizard?" Eevee asked. Growlithe nodded.  
  
==Tokyo  
  
"To our newest members!" Yoshie Izumi said, raising her glass. All the other parents there mimed the gesture. Mikhail reddened a bit. "So, welcome to the conspiracy."  
  
"I must admit, this group is a bit...larger than I expected." Akiko Motomiya said, looking at all the people here. The parents had descended on a small restaurant and had booked one of the larger tables.  
  
"And this all started four years ago?" Kenta asked.  
  
"Eight, according to Tai and Kari." Susumu Kamiya said, nodding. "Remember that terrorist bombing at Highton View about eight years back? That was actually a pair of digimon appearing in the city. All the kids that saw it became digidestined."  
  
"But June and Davis were nowhere near there!" Kenta replied, still a bit concerned.  
  
"Yeah," Masami Izumi, Izzy's foster father, replied, "but they were caught up in that whole thing with Myotismon, right? Izzy figured that once you've seen a digimon, you tend to become a digidestined. It sounds shaky, but it's the only theory that fits."  
  
Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather, nodded. "Hm. Perhaps my son could have been one, then."  
  
"Cody?" Nancy, sitting by Mikhail, asked.  
  
"No, his father, Hiroki. He and his friend Oikawa often told me stories about talking to creatures on a television screen. I should have paid more attention to them."  
  
"You know," Ms. Kamiya said, "Just before she left to fight, Kari said she kept seeing digimon on the TV screen, and that they were causing disasters all over the world. But I expect that's all old hat to you." she went on, nodding to Mikhail.  
  
"Not really," Kyle's father replied. "Where I come from, the monsters are rarely larger than the house you live in, and tend to be more peaceful. Usually."  
  
==Highton View Park  
  
"Half an hour, Matt!" Ryo called for the doorway.  
  
"Sure thing!" Matt called back. Matt tried to relax in his chair, trying to shake off the tension he felt. He always got this way before going on stage. He looked up at the clock. Half an hour left. Plenty of time. He failed to notice two figures sneak out from under one of the tables Matt had left his guitar on. He started to get up when he smelled something odd, sneezed on what felt like dust. He then sat back and relaxed, dozing off.  
  
"Okay," Palmon said into a small walk talkie. "You're on!" Beside her, Ivysaur nodded. Tai had been very specific, just enough Sleep Powder to make him doze off a bit, to stay asleep until it was too late.  
  
When Matt came to, he looked at the clock. "Oh man, I fell asleep! The guys are going to kill me!" He grabbed his guitar and ran out the door. He could hear cheering from the crowd and...singing? Curious, he went over to the edge of the stage, and stared, stunned.  
  
Mimi was there, singing something cheery and upbeat ('Happy Happy!' from Tales of Phantasia, if you're interested. -ed). She was dressed in a beautiful one piece dress, all pink, naturally, and she had a sweater draped around her shoulders. She saw Matt, winked at him, and sung the finishing chorus, before waving him over. "I hope you don't mind, Matt, I just thought I'd warm the audience up a bit first." She held back a snicker as several shouts of 'we don't mind' came up from the audience.  
  
Matt threw a glare at Ryo, who was trying to look innocent. So were, now that he looked, Tai, Sora, and Joe, and he assumed that Izzy had a similar expression, up in the control booth. "How...?" Matt stammered  
  
"You didn't think I'd pass up something like this?" Mimi replied coyly. "But it was Ryo's idea, when you get down to it." She leaned over, and whispered something to Matt. "Listen, can I sing one more song? Please?" There was laughter as Mimi put her hands together, overacting her plea. Dumbly, Matt nodded. "Great! Come on!" Mimi said, waving to Sora.   
  
"Wish me luck." Sora said, squeezing Tai's hand.  
  
"Knock 'em dead." Tai whispered. "And don't let Mimi show you up!" Nodding, Sora ran up to the stage, got a hand up from Mimi, and the two girls stood together. Mimi nodded to the keyboarder, who started playing an upbeat tune. Matt recognized it instantly, from the show 'Full Metal Alchemist' that he had been watching.  
  
Melissa - Full Metal Alchemist opening; translation courtesy of Escadevotion  
  
With your hands tear up those far away memories of the day  
  
And stop the meaning of sadness completely  
  
Now, pierce through my longing heart with love  
  
Morning comes and should the sky be seen, it does nothing for my troubled heart  
  
Nearby a bird takes fight, probably to find a light somewhere  
  
Say, would you let me on your back?  
  
And then kindly leave me behind at the highest point...  
  
After this first bit, Matt had recovered enough to pick up with his guitar. It was turning into a good night for him.  
  
==  
  
The other parents had broken up about 10 minutes ago, Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya deciding to go visit the Izumis for a while (Akiko joking that they might become in-laws soon, a line that left both fathers looking a little green.) Most of the other families had Christmas plans to finish up, trees to finish decorating (with presents ;-) -ed), and relatives to call. So, it eventually left Mikhail and Nancy strolling down the street. Kyle's father had a cane with him, but it seemed to be more for show than anything else. "Well," Mikhail said, "I'm glad I'm not alone. I thought seeing Kyle off on his pokemon journey was tough. All this digimon stuff is dangerous."  
  
Nancy smiled. "Well, at least you have some idea of what he might have to face. When I watched TK leave, I didn't have a clue. And he was only eight."  
  
Mikhail sighed. "Eight? I didn't let Kyle go until he was 14. And we had quite a fight about it when he was 10."  
  
"You said something about that. It sounds like an odd system."  
  
"Well, it was about the only way parents could keep an eye on all those kids who wanted to go running off and train pokemon. Rather than have police running around catching kids who had run off with a Squirtle and were searching for Moltres, we started licensing it, used the Pokemon Centers as a way to keep an eye on trainers, created the Leagues to make sure pokemon were treated fairly. It was a lot less nerve wracking. It's not perfect, but it's better than what it used to be."  
  
"Well," Nancy said, "Kyle seems to have turned out alright. And that girl TK's seeing now. And Ryo, for all that he hangs around with Matt." Nancy joked.  
  
"Where was Mr. Ishida tonight?"  
  
Nancy sighed. "It was work. He had to stay late and take care of some things at the station. That's one of the reasons we...broke up."  
  
Mikhail winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"  
  
"Forget it. We still see each other a lot, but...I know TK would like to see us get back together, but it's still a bit painful to be around him." Nancy saw the ring on Mikhail's finger. "I guess you know about that."  
  
"Hm?" Mikhail asked, then saw where Nancy was looking. "Oh. No...it was..." His face fell as an old memory came back to him.  
  
Nancy looked stricken. "Oh, Mikhail....I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Now it's my turn to say forget it." Mikhail replied. He glanced up, and saw they were back at Nancy's apartment. "Why don't we go in? It's freezing out here."  
  
==Ichijouji home  
  
Ken's mother looked over all the children in her living room. "I'm so glad he's made so many friends."  
  
Mr. Ichijouji put an arm on his wife's shoulder. "Same here. He's changed, ever since he came back. He's stopped trying to be Sam."  
  
"And we stopped trying to make him Sam."  
  
In the living room, Ken walked over to Davis. "So, having fun?"  
  
"You bet! You've got an awesome computer system, Ken! My folks are still using a two-year old model!"  
  
Ken chuckled lightly. All the digidestined had been taking turns playing each other on Ken's computer. He had won it after the Dark Spore had taken effect, but had only really started using it now, after his mind had been freed from its effects. He had spent some of his money picking out a few games for it, figuring that was what normal kids did with computers. As luck had it, one of the store owners had recognized the 'boy genius' and had been only too happy to give Ken a slight discount.  
  
"Umm...Davis? Did Yolei change her outfit in the digital world? With everything that happened, I never had a chance to ask her."  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, she said that she got some sort of program from Wormmon. I think she started to hate the outfit she had gotten, something about having a basketball for a hat. You could ask her." Davis indicated Yolei, off talking to Kari in one corner.  
  
"Hmm. Melody didn't come?"  
  
"Nah, she had to do some sort of ceremony tonight. Her parents were going all sacred family tradition on her."  
  
"I guess being a priestess is tough." Ken said, trying to make small-talk.  
  
"She's a shrine maiden." Davis replied.  
  
"There's a difference?"  
  
"Oh yeah." Davis replied, looking out the window. Overhearing this, Yolei giggled.  
  
==Stone Town.  
  
Kyle and June stepped out of the restaurant an hour later. "That was so wonderful." June said. "Thank you." She was a bit worried. Kyle had been calm on the surface, but there was something on his mind that was just dying to get out. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was, though. The night had been too perfect, so far.   
  
They had started to head back to Kyle's house when Kyle stopped, turned and faced June. "June? There's...something else I want to give you. But I don't know if you'll like it."  
  
June smiled. "You've done pretty well so far." she replied.  
  
Kyle smiled, then took one of her hands in both of his. "I know we've only been seeing each other since...late September?" June nodded. "Well...I'd like to...that is..." Kyle pressed a small box into June's hand, not sure what else he could say.  
  
Starting to tremble a bit, June opened the box. Inside was a ring, similar to the engagement ring her mother had worn. "Kyle..." June whispered. "Is this...are you...proposing?" she gasped.  
  
Kyle's mind whirled. He had been practising this speech all night, how they would have to finish school and everything, be able to take care of each other, how he wasn't even old enough, by the law, to marry her right now. All he could manage was "Y-Yes."  
  
June just stared, tears streaming down her face. She pulled one of her gloves off and placed the ring on her finger. "Yes." she replied. "YES!" she nearly shouted, stepping forward and kissing Kyle.  
  
Across the street, Elecmon fainted. "Oh my." Growlithe exclaimed quietly, stunned.  
  
"They grow up so fast." Eevee mused. "Kari's going to flip. Shame she didn't loan us a camera."  
  
==Highton View Park.  
  
Sora and Mimi finished singing, bowed, and stepped back. Matt strode over, light-headed, and Mimi gave him a light peck on the cheek (Prompting several whistles and a few groans.) "I've been informed," Matt said, "that there's one more act, and Ryo? This one's for you."  
  
Ryo blinked. This wasn't on the playlist. And what was that tune the keyboarder was playing? He squinted as the spotlight flashed over him, and aimed at the back of the audience. It was focussed on Caryl, wearing a formal looking black dress with an elaborate white collar.   
  
Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed), lyrics courtesy of Animelyrics.com  
  
"Been a long road to follow/  
  
been there and gone tomorrow/  
  
without saying goodbye to yesterday/  
  
are the memories I hold still valid?/  
  
or have the tears deluded them?..."  
  
Ryo sat, entranced. He could tell that Caryl was forcing her voice to sound slightly lower than it usually did. She was still singing quite well.  
  
==Outside  
  
Arukenimon checked her watch. "Time to begin. Shame, that little girl's first performance will be her last."  
  
"I disagree." Renamon said, appearing. "You have no business here." Smirking, Arukenimon dodged to the side, hurling a small silvery needle.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Arukenimon asked, watching as Renamon dodged the needle.  
  
"Where Caryl goes, I go." Renamon raised her arms, ready to attack.  
  
"Touching." Arukenimon replied. "But you're about to be too busy." She snapped her fingers and vanished, just as a sickly orange light appeared behind Renamon.  
  
==Takashi apartment  
  
"There was an ice patch on the road that the other driver didn't see." Mikhail sighed. "When I woke up, I had a stitched knee and...I was a widower." Nancy gave Mikhail's hand a tight squeeze. Smiling, he went on. "Kyle was only a few months old at the time, staying with Jennifer's sister...she was one of a kind, even compared to the rest of her family.  
  
"Anyway, I had to retire from the force, so I did a little consulting work, and took care of Kyle."  
  
Nancy nodded. "That's what I had to do with TK. Hiroaki had his work, and Matt...well, he was older, so he could take care of himself. I still checked on him, of course, but..." Nancy sighed. "For what it's worth, Kyle has become a fine young man. Though I'm not sure he should be proposing to June after only going out with her for a few...months, is it?"  
  
Mikhail shrugged. "Well, I had to do something. I've seen Kyle and June together a few times, and I started to worry he might do something stupid, like elope or something. High-handed of me, I know."  
  
"And the engagement ring?"  
  
"Jennifer's. It was damaged in the accident, but I never could get rid of it. So, I had it repaired and a new stone set in a few weeks back, and arranged for Kyle to find it in a jewellery store. He had stopped by there a few times already, and was leaning towards a ring I knew he couldn't afford.  
  
"Oh, of course I'll be all properly surprised when he tells me, and I'll tell him he should finish school and find work before he goes and gets married. I think he knows that already, but some things have to be done properly. Kyle's a sucker for a big ceremony."  
  
Nancy laughed a bit. "Maybe I should try something like that for TK."  
  
==  
  
Izzy frowned as some static started to creep into the system, just as Caryl was finishing her song. Annoyed, he started making adjustments, but the disruption only got worse. He saw Matt looking up at the booth, shrugged helplessly, and continued working.  
  
"It's alright, folks, just a little technical difficulty with the speakers." Matt announced when the noise got too bad. "Ryo, Kouji, let's do some unplugged work." The two nodded as Matt put his guitar down and took out his harmonica. "Hope I remember how to do this." he said to himself.  
  
Izzy kept playing with the knobs and dials, but the interference still remained. Now it had moved from the speakers to the lights, causing them to start flickering erratically. Cursing, he disconnected his computer, which had been recording the concert, and was about to shut it down when the screen started to flash red.  
  
"What could...no, it can't be!" He grabbed the laptop and ran out of the booth. "I have to get to Tentomon!" He got ten paces before Dark Tyrannomon tore through the tent behind the band. The audience panicked and started stampeding out of tent. Matt and Ryo ran away from the attacking digimon, Ryo calling out Charmeleon, Vaporeon, and Nidoking as he did so.  
  
Tai, Sora, Mimi, and Joe hopped up on the stage and ran to where Matt and Ryo were; as they did, their partner digimon joined them. "Agumon, digivolve!" Tai yelled.  
  
Agumon tried to digivolve, as did the other digimon. "I can't! Something's stopping me!"  
  
"That would be me." Arukenimon said, walking slowly through the wrecked audience seating. "Demon does not like his plans being thwarted, and I thought this would be an appropriate Christmas gift. I hope you enjoy."  
  
Ryo snarled. "Too bad you forgot about me! Charmeleon, GO!"  
  
"Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!" Charizard roared and fired a gout of flame at Arukenimon. However, the witch had managed to vanish before it hit, evil laughter the only thing she left behind.  
  
Izzy ran up. "If Charmeleon can digivolve and our digimon can't, that means there must be a control spire nearby! And something's slammed the Digiport shut, so we can't send them back!"  
  
"It was Arukenimon!" Renamon called, appearing and kicking an attacking Bakemon in the head. "She created it, then vanished before I could stop her!"  
  
"Renamon?" Caryl asked. "How'd you get here?"  
  
"Someone had to chaperone you!" Renamon replied, dodging Bakemon's attack. "Diamond Storm!"  
  
Ryo looked at Izzy. "I can." he said, holding up his D-3. "But I can't do this without some backup! Nidoking, go find the spire and wreck it! Vaporeon, go with him!" The two pokemon nodded and looked for the best way to get out.  
  
"Be careful!" Sora yelled. As she said that, Ivysaur ran past her, joining the other pokemon Ryo had sent. "How many digimon are out here?" she asked.  
  
Izzy checked his computer. "At least 20." he said. "Two or three of them are Ultimate digimon, too."  
  
==  
  
"We've just received word that more monsters have appeared at the concert in Tokyo." the radio reporter said. Davis looked up at the radio, incredulous. "Witnesses report that a number of monsters and a mysterious black monolith have appeared just outside the concert grounds, and that a number of unidentified entities are currently attacking random targets around the city. Citizens are urged to stay indoors unless directed to evacuate by the police. We repeat-"  
  
Davis got up. "We have to stop those Digimon!"  
  
"Demon." TK looked at the other digidestined. "Looks like he recovered faster than we thought. This must be his revenge for losing his Imperialdramon." The kids got up, gathered their digimon, and headed for the door. However, Ken's mother quickly blocked them.  
  
"No, you can't go!" she cried. "After that monster destroyed Highton View Terrace, I can't let you go out there!"  
  
"Mom!" Ken said urgently. "We're the only ones that can fight this."  
  
"Please." Kari begged. "Tai's there."  
  
"My brother's there too." TK added. "We can help him!"  
  
Ms. Ichijouji shook her head, but Ken's father put a hand on her, gently pulled her away from the door, and opened it. "Get going." he said, trying not to sob. "Just be careful."  
  
"I will, father." Ken said, as he and the other children left. "I promise, I'll explain everything when I get back."  
  
==  
  
[Well?} Ivysaur asked as he, Vaporeon, and Nidoking made it outside.  
  
[I'm looking!] Nidoking replied testily. [YOU try picking out a BLACK object in the middle of the night, when there's no lights around!]  
  
[How about a faint red glow?] Vaporeon asked. As he spoke, the top of the tent exploded as Charizard flew upwards, carrying Dark Tyrannomon with him. [Seismic toss,] Vaporeon sighed, [he is such a showboater.] The three watched as Charizard flew straight up, made several circles in mid air, then flew straight down, releasing the digimon at the last minute. Dark Tyrannomon slammed into the ground with a bone-shattering thud, and didn't get up again.   
  
Charizard spun, fired an Ember at a tree, and flew off. The burning tree gave a little light, allowing the pokemon to see the location of the Spire.   
  
[There it is!] Nidoking yelled, charging. [Megaton PUNCH!] The spire shivered under the blow, but did not yield. Nidoking hopped back and tried his Hyper Beam, with little more effect.   
  
Ivysaur looked around. Nothing, all the lights were dead, just a clear night, the stars, the moon...[Cover me!] Ivysaur yelled. He sat in front of the spire, concentrating.  
  
[A Solar Beam at night? Are you nuts?] Vaporeon asked.  
  
[You have a better idea? And what's moonlight except the reflection of the sun? Just keep me covered, it's going to take me time to pull this off!]  
  
"What's he doing?" Tentomon, hovering over the tent, looked at Ivysaur.  
  
Palmon, standing on one of the scaffolds that had survived, looked at Ivysaur. She then saw the silvery specks collecting in the flower on his back. "He's trying a Solar Beam! But he needs light to pull it off!" Palmon looked around. There was a small swarm of Bakemon flying around; the other rookie digimon were handling them for now, but their number seemed to be increasing. Charizard was battling a Sabirdramon that had appeared. "Tentomon, can you  
  
power some of those lights?" She indicated a bank of lights that was hanging off of the scaffolds by several wires. As she spoke, Renamon leaped over her, Letting off a Diamond Storm at the attackers nearing the humans.   
  
"Just call me the Energizer Bunnymon!" Tentomon replied. "On your signal!"  
  
Palmon nodded. "Poison Ivy!" Palmon's vines wrapped around two of the lights, and she pulled them up. A second later, Biyomon flew up and gave her a hand with a third light. Quickly, they pointed them at Ivysaur. "Now, Tentomon!"  
  
"Super Shocker!" The electric bolt hit the wires, and the lights went on, including the three that Palmon and Biyomon had aimed at Ivysaur. The seed pokemon looked up, and saw Palmon waving at him.  
  
[Tell me she has a sister.] Vaporeon cracked as Ivysaur focussed his attention on the spire.  
  
[She's one of a kind, and all mine!] Ivysaur answered fiercely. [Solar Beam!] The laser stabbed into the spire. The spire shook, and Vaporeon saw the base of the spire glow a dull red as the attack started to melt it. He called over to Nidoking, who added another Hyper Beam to the attack. There was a sharp crack, as the spire started to crack.  
  
{Yeah!] Vaporeon yelled. He launched a Water Gun attack at the spire, making it crack more as the rapidly cooling structure contracted violently, then Ice Beamed it for good measure, causing the water in the cracks to expand. The Spire shattered.  
  
"They did it!" Palmon yelled. "Guys, the Spire's been destroyed!"  
  
"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon!"  
  
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Garurumon!"  
  
"Alright!" Matt yelled. "Take those ghosts down!" Gleefully, Garurumon and Greymon charged the Bakemon, herding them towards the lake. Ryo grabbed Izzy's laptop, opened a Digiport, and sent them back to the digital world.  
  
Charizard landed. "There's a Megadramon up there, and that Sabirdramon's too fast for me to keep up with."  
  
"Megadramon's an ultimate level digimon." Izzy said. "And I think there might have been one or two other Ultimates that are in the city. But a lot of the digimon are still in this area. We'll have to make sure these digimon don't get away and attack the city; Tokyo's still recovering from the last digital battle."  
  
"We can handle this!" Biyomon chirped. "Right Sora?" Sora nodded. "Biyomon, warp digivolve to...Phoenixmon!" The rainbow hued bird flew up, challenging Megadramon.  
  
"Forgot she could do that." Matt said, watching Phoenixmon attack. "Tai, don't ever let Sora get mad at you."  
  
Sora winked. "Got that right."  
  
Palmon ran over to Ivysaur as the trio of pokemon returned. "Ivysaur, you did great out there!" Palmon said, kissing Ivysaur.  
  
[Sure, not like we did anything.] Nidoking grunted.   
  
Ivysaur gave Nidoking a raspberry. [Deal with it.] he answered.  
  
==  
  
June released Kyle from the kiss, and the trainer stepped back, breathless. "Is that a yes?" he asked faintly, mind not fully working.  
  
June showed Kyle the ring on her finger. "I'd say it was. An engagement ring on Christmas. Only you would have done something like that. Does anyone else know?"  
  
"Just Tai." Kyle replied. "And I swore him to secrecy." They kissed again, and just held each other for a few minutes after that.  
  
It was Kyle that noticed it first. It was a sudden movement, a sound, he wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it broke the mood.  
  
"What is it?" June asked as she noticed Kyle was distracted.  
  
"I don't know. I thought..." Kyle looked in the area he had thought he had noticed something amiss. No cars, only a few pedestrians, no one was staring, large wooden box, upended ....Kyle's eyebrow started twitching. "One sec." he said to June, crossing the street. Curious, June followed him.  
  
"Umm...is that box...smoking?" June asked.  
  
"Yes...it is." Kyle growled. "You can come out now, I know you're in there." With that, he grabbed one side of the box, and lifted. He grunted a bit, but the box moved.  
  
Sitting around a small fire were Growlithe, Eevee, and Elecmon. "Umm...congratulations?" Elecmon hazarded.  
  
'Frosty' didn't begin to describe June's expression.  
  
==Tokyo.  
  
Ikkakumon and Togemon double teamed a Tortomon, forcing it back to Izzy's computer and through the portal that Ryo had opened. Greymon had been forced out due to a viscous attack by a Phantomon, but Kabuterimon covered his retreat. The bug digimon had been hovering just over the battlefield, sniping at whatever digimon was open with well placed Electro Shocker bolts.  
  
Garurumon jumped in, taking over for Greymon. He dodged Phantomon's scythe, and countered with a Howling Blaster. Phantomon responded by hurling his scythe. Garurumon caught the scythe in his teeth. "Woof." he growled, snapping the handle in two.  
  
"Couldn't we talk this over?" Phantomon asked. Garurumon's only reply was to dash forward, snag the ghost digimon in his jaws, and chuck Phantomon at Ryo, who pointed the open Digiport at the ghost, forcing it back to the digital world.  
  
"Yeah!" Matt yelled. "At this rate, we're gonna catch 'em all!"  
  
Mimi rolled her eyes, wondering if Matt had been hanging around Tai or Davis again. "Togemon, look out!"  
  
Togemon turned, and saw a Dokugumon charging at her. At the last second, several green vines wrapped around the spider, stopping it. Togemon saw Ivysaur behind the spider, holding it back.  
  
"Thanks! Lightspeed Jabbing!" Togemon beat Dokugumon senseless, then sent it flying with an uppercut, to be pulled through the portal.  
  
Sora looked up. Every now and then, she could make out red flashes of light; Phoenixmon and Megadramon were still battling. Off to her side, Nidoking and Vaporeon were assisting Greymon, keeping the last few Bakemon away from Greymon's injured side. Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and Megadramon came falling down out of the sky. Ryo, still holding the computer, ran over and pulled the beaten digimon in. A minute later, Biyomon glided down, exhausted.  
  
"Twice in a week is a bit much. How did Agumon and Gabumon put up with it?" Biyomon sighed, nestling against Sora.  
  
"We're just that good." Greymon rumbled, headbutting a second Dark Tyrannomon, knocking out the digimon. Nidoking grabbed it by the tail and dragged it over to Ryo. Charizard flew down, following a thoroughly beaten Sabirdramon, who grudgingly went into the portal, followed by Dark Tyrannomon, with a helpful toss from Charizard.  
  
Renamon tossed a stray Nanimon through the gateway. "Some of us don't need to digivolve." she smirked, glancing at Agumon, who stuck his tongue out at her in return.  
  
"I think that's all of them." Mimi said, looking around. The impromptu stadium was a shambles. Some people still hovered around, having watched the whole battle. In the distance, police sirens could be heard. Not a digimon that wasn't a partner was in sight.  
  
"All right!" Tai yelled. "Who says we still don't got it?"  
  
"Not Davis, after tonight at least." Joe replied. "Shame we can't tell anyone else about this."  
  
Sora shook her head. "I think Tokyo's had enough of monsters for a while. We'd better get home before someone shows up and starts asking questions we can't answer." Now half asleep, Biyomon nodded. All the other digimon in the area reverted to their rookie levels, also worn out. Ryo recalled Nidoking and Vaporeon.  
  
There was a sudden shimmer. Mewtwo appeared, and brought Kyle, June, and their partner monsters with them. He started to speak, then looked around at the carnage. "I see we were not needed after all." he commented dryly.  
  
"Nope, we had everything under control." Matt replied, walking over and closing the top of Izzy's computer. As he spoke, Paildramon, Silphymon, and Angemon arrived, carrying the rest of the digidestined (and Armadillomon; face it, Angemon's a lot faster than Shakouomon). "Sorry guys, you missed all the fun!"  
  
Kari ran over and hugged her brother. "I'm glad you're alright!" she said.  
  
Davis sighed. "You didn't leave anyone for us to fight?"  
  
"We would have been here sooner, but the police had the whole place surrounded; we couldn't even find a place for our digimon to digivolve without starting a panic." TK explained.  
  
"Well, you'll be happy to know that the original digidestined were more than able to handle this crisis." Izzy smiled as he spoke.  
  
"Careful Izzy," June said, "your ego's showing."  
  
"So, how was your night June?" Sora asked. "I hear that Kyle took you to..." she trailed off, noticing something on June's hand. She looked up at June, stunned. "He didn't!"   
  
Davis looked at Sora, then June and Kyle. "Didn't? Didn't what?"  
  
June held up her hand, displaying the ring for all to see. "He did. We're officially engaged!" Caryl applauded and, after a quick elbow from her, so did Ryo.  
  
"On Christmas Eve?" Mimi said, eyes wide. "That's so romantic!" She edged over to Matt. "Isn't it?" she asked him, giving him a subtle elbow.  
  
"Ah...yeah, right." Matt replied, forcing himself to grin. "Kyle, you're making me look bad!" he whispered.  
  
Davis walked over to his sister and Kyle. "Congratulations." he said, shaking Kyle's hand. "I should have seen it coming." He then walked off. The two DNA digivolved digimon split into their separate digimon; Demi-Veemon ran after Davis.  
  
"He took that pretty well." June said. She mentally took that back when Davis' yell of "I'll KILL HIM!" echoed through the park and parts of downtown Tokyo.  
  
Next Episode  
  
In a desperate act, Demon tries to rally his troops by staging a mass invasion of the Human world. The digidestined must split up and face threats all over the globe, meeting old and new friends. Next time, on Digimon Digicross:   
  
-Worlds Tour part 1: Vancouver's lights, New York's sights." 


	38. Digicross TV 37 'Worlds Tour part 1: Van...

Glancing at the clock, June saw that it was still early, about 7:30 am. She shifted a bit, and realised that she had not gotten changed after getting home. "Mom's going to be furious when she sees all these wrinkles in my dress." she muttered, starting to get up. Mentally, she recalled everything that had happened the night before, her date, the battle they had just missed...  
  
Kyle's engagement ring. June shivered, still overcome at the thought of it. Dad had turned white when he had seen it, mom cried a bit, and Davis...well, he stopped plotting Kyle's murder, anyway. Oh, there had been the expected 'finish school and get a job' speech dad had immediately launched into (Once mom had peeled him off the ceiling) that June agreed to (as had Kyle, whom mom was already calling 'son', to dad's chagrin). That reminded her; she still had to have a nice long talk with Elecmon about spying on her. But it could wait.  
  
Someone was pounding on her door. For a split second, June was afraid that it was her dad, intent on taking her engagement ring away. Then the door almost flew open. "June!" Davis almost yelled, clearly panicked about something. "You've got to see this!" Without waiting (or listening), Davis grabbed June's arm and half dragged her to the television.  
  
"And reports are coming in just now about mysterious black towers appearing, seemingly at random, all over the world. So far, three have been spotted in Japan, with other major population centers, including France, New York, Vancouver, Hong Kong, London..."  
  
June got up, ready to call Kyle, but found that Davis was on the phone already.  
  
==  
  
Digimon: Digicross episode 36  
  
-Worlds Tour part 1: Vancouver's lights, New York's sights.  
  
==  
  
The next two hours saw a small army of digidestined descend on various parts of Japan, sending digimon back through the portals and destroying all the spires they could find. Disturbingly, they couldn't contact Ryo, though Melody and Crystal had been only too happy to come help. Kyle had come though the digiport, bringing Tai and Kari with him.  
  
"It's too early for this! Shurimon, take care of that oversized rodent already! I need my beauty sleep!" Yolei snarled (No, she's not a morning person -ed).  
  
"I almost have him...NOW!" Shurimon yelled, and leaped back as the lake he and Musyamon were fighting over suddenly erupted. Depthmon came shooting out, and caught the sword-wielding digimon in a vortex of water.  
  
"Digiport open!" Melody shouted, aiming her digivice at the laptop Yolei was carrying. A portal icon appeared, and Musyamon was sucked through. "Not bad, Depthmon! I'm glad all that loafing on the beach didn't make you too much of a wimp."  
  
Depthmon switched back to V-mon. "Hey, I was building up my heat tolerance! Besides, those pina coladas are addictive." Melody sighed.  
  
Shurimon landed, and released the digiegg he was using, turning back into Hawkmon. "I wonder how the others are doing?"  
  
Across town, Noriko Takaya shrieked and ran as a large spider came running at her. "Someone please save me!" She regretted shouting, as she was overtaken by a coughing fit, and fell down, too weak to get up.  
  
Cody and Armadillomon chased after Dokugumon, wishing that TK was with him. "Get away from her! Digiarmour energize!" He stumbled as he activated the digiegg, nearly dropping the laptop Izzy had loaned him.  
  
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Digmon, the wisdom of steel!" Digmon aimed his drill missiles, ready to fire. "Dokugemon's too close to that girl! I have to get closer." he huffed, stomping forward. Cody's heart was in his mouth, as he realised that, by the time Digmon was in position, it would be too late for that girl.  
  
Wings were flapping. Suddenly, a white streak shot between Dokugumon and Noriko, stopping the digimon in its tracks. Dokugumon reared back, challenged by...a duck with a green onion?  
  
Cody's mind instantly shot back...months, was it? It was when he had first met Kyle, and he had shown the group something on his pokedex. "A Farfetch'd?" he gasped.  
  
"Farfetched! Far, FarFARFETCHED!" the duck pokemon honked, waving his impromptu weapon at Dokugumon. Unimpressed, Dokugumon shot forward, trying to bite the pokemon in two. Farfetch'd dodged the attack, swinging his onion stalk as he moved. The spider reared back, a bright red 'X' on its forehead now. Dokugumon spent a few seconds trying to get around the pokemon, then just webbed it up.  
  
That, however, had given Digmon more than enough time to get in position. "Gold Rush!" he yelled, sending all five missiles slamming into Dokugumon. The spider digimon was knocked out, and quickly sent back to the digital world through the laptop.  
  
Cody ran over to Noriko. "Are you alright?" he asked, helping Noriko up. "Don't worry." he said, nodding to Digmon. "He's a friend, just like this...duck? Are you a pokemon, by any chance? Did Kyle or Ryo send you?" Farfetch'd shook his head defiantly, as if saying 'Me? Owned by a human? Don't be silly!' Digmon managed to free the duck pokemon, who promptly ignored him (Rather catlike, yes? -ed)  
  
"You mean, there are more of those monsters loose here?" Noriko asked, still shaken by her first encounter with a digimon.  
  
"Don't worry, my friends and I are sending them back to their own world." Cody assured her. "Umm...do you want me to walk you home?" Cody asked, unsure what to do next.  
  
Noriko smiled a bit. "Aren't you a bit young to be a knight in shining armour?"  
  
"Uh...well, grandpa always told me to never leave someone who's hurt alone when there's giant monsters running loose." Cody replied, dead serious (Yes, Cody's grandpa really did say this. It was after a Gojira marathon and...ah, skip it -ed).  
  
"Well, we can't go around disappointing your grandfather, now can we?" Noriko answered. She glanced at Farfetch'd who had waddled over to Noriko. "Umm...thank you?" she said to the duck, not sure how to talk to...well, a duck. Farfetch'd nodded, glowed for a second, and glanced up as a small rectangular piece of metal appeared over him.  
  
"A digivice!" Cody gasped, recognising it instantly. "Does that mean...your partner is Farfetch'd?"  
  
"Farfetch'd!"   
  
==  
  
Davis had to fight not to laugh out loud. Exveemon and Angemon were fighting the Sabirdramon that had appeared last night, and was now back, eager to settle scores. With him was a Monochromon, which Crystal and Strabimon were battling.  
  
"Shining Nail!" Strabimon yelled, ramming one hand into Monochromon's head, knocking the heavily-armoured digimon out. It was Strabimon's pose, so much like Domon Kasshu's 'Shining Finger' pose from 'G Gundam', that nearly had Davis cracking up. Plus he sounded a bit like Domon, if he were in his early teens and had just inhaled a bit of helium.  
  
Angemon thrust his fist forward, aiming at Sabirdramon. "Hand of Fate!" The attack struck Sabirdramon in the back, forcing him towards Exveemon.  
  
"Got him!" Exveemon called, tossing him towards the digiport TK had opened. Sabirdramon vanished through, and, after a few more strikes from Strabimon, Monochromon went through as well.  
  
Crystal's pokegear rang. "It's Kari." she said as TK and Davis ran over. "They managed to get a Triceramon through a digiport, and that Izzy wants us to meet him in Haighton View Park. He says something big is happening."  
  
"He must be talking about all those spires that appeared all over the world." TK replied. "Maybe we're going to go after them all ourselves."  
  
Davis pumped his fist in the air. "Cool! World Tour!" Crystal looked at TK, who only shrugged and sighed.  
  
==  
  
Izzy tried not to look too nervous as the digidestined gathered around. "I assume everyone here knows about the Control Spires appearing all over the world?"  
  
"All over the world?" Matt asked, stunned. "And are there...?"  
  
Izzy nodded. "Yes. Digimon have also appeared. And whoever sent them here fixed it so that our old digivices can't open a digiport to send them back." He demonstrated with his own digivice on his laptop. The portal appeared, but did not open. "As many of you discovered, only those of you with D-3s can open digiports now. Worse, we can't travel through the digital world to help out those other places." Izzy's laptop glowed. "Incoming portal...it's Ryo."  
  
"About time." Caryl muttered. "Figures he'd leave me to do all his work for him."  
  
Ryo appeared, face dark. "Bad news. Izzy told me about the Control Spires in this world. Well, I just took one out near New Bark Town, and I've heard reports of more in the Orange Islands."  
  
"My home!" Melody gasped. "Have any digimon appeared there?"  
  
"I took care of two, but I haven't heard any reports of any in the Orange Archipelago. Mind you, they could be laying low, or just be mistaken for unusual pokemon. I talked to Edward, he's going to check it out."  
  
"I'll go too." Melody said. "That's my home too." She stopped, looking at Davis.  
  
"What? Like you said, it's your home. Just leave saving this world to me."  
  
Crystal glanced at TK, then spoke up. "Count me in. Sorry TK." TK, blushing a bit, nodded to Crystal.  
  
"You'd better get going then." Izzy said, then stepped back as Crystal and Melody went through. "Not you, Ryo. Not yet, at least.  
  
"This is going to be tricky, but we're going to have to separate into teams of two and help out the digidestined who don't have D-3s like you do."  
  
Yolei grimaced. "You'll be breaking up all our DNA teams if you do that. If we run into trouble with other Ultimate or even Mega level digimon, we might not be able to fight them."  
  
Gennai stepped forward. "Well, I can actually help you there. Mewtwo and Azulongmon are a bit tapped out, but Ebonwumon and Zhuquiamon still have some power to spare." He opened his hands to reveal a digicore. "If I could have all the original digidestined children step forward?" Tai, Matt, Sora, and Joe did so. "Kari? TK? You too. I can use this digicore to temporarily repower your digimon. You should be able to digivolve them back to their Ultimate levels again."  
  
"I can become WereGarurumon again?" Gabumon asked. "All right!"  
  
"What about Mimi?" Sora asked. "She's not here."  
  
"I'll send the digicore with whoever goes to New York." Gennai replied. "Now, how to pick who to go where..."  
  
"Actually, I might be able to answer that." Izzy replied. "I was toying around with this a year after our first trip to the digital world. What I did was enter everyone's name in a database, and write a program to randomly select teams of digidestined. When I heard about the control spires appearing here, I modified the program to also select cities."  
  
"Wait." Joe said suddenly. "Izzy, you planned for an attack of digimon world-wide?"  
  
Izzy shrugged. "Lucky guess? Actually, I started toying around with it after our first trip to the digital world. Remember, digimon started appearing all over the world then, too."  
  
"But how will we get there?" Tai asked. "Swim?"  
  
"Imperialdramon." Gennai answered. "He can travel quite fast when the need is there."  
  
"Right. I've modified the program so that Ken, Davis, Kyle, and June are on the same continent. In this case, it's North America, where there are four trouble areas: Vancouver, New York, Southern California, and Mexico. I already contacted Seth, and he and Kyle Evanick are headed to Southern California."  
  
"I bet Casey insisted on going with them." Yolei commented.  
  
"Actually, she did." Izzy replied. "Okay, North America teams: Ken and...Matt. You're off to Mexico. Davis, you're meeting Mimi in New York. That leaves Kyle and June to go to Vancouver." Both Kyle and June blushed as everyone looked at them, grinning knowingly.  
  
"Try and behave you two." Matt joked, getting a dirty look from Kyle. One of Kyle's pokeballs opened, and Ivysaur appeared, marching over to where Davis was.  
  
"Ivysaur?" Kyle asked. "I...oh, right. Palmon." The plant pokemon refused to look at anyone, ignoring the barrage of laughter.  
  
"Okay, the rest of the teams. Hong Kong. Kari and...me?"  
  
"TOTALLY RANDOM, HUH?" everyone (except for Kari) chorused.  
  
"It was!" Izzy replied.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll make sure they behave." Gatomon said, glancing at a now furiously blushing Kari.  
  
"Or at least tell everyone what happened." Tentomon added.  
  
"Ahem. Anyway...Australia: Cody and Caryl."  
  
"Yayy!" Caryl cheered. "I get the cute one!" Immediately, she latched onto Cody's arm. Cody looked pleadingly at Ryo. Renamon just groaned.  
  
"London: Ryo and Joe."  
  
"I hope they cleaned up the Thames." Gomamon sighed. "And I hope it's warm there. I hate ice."  
  
"I thought you liked ice." Joe replied.  
  
"Not every day of my life."  
  
Izzy took a deep breath, calming himself. "Russia: Yolei and Sora."  
  
"See?" Gomamon commented, noting Yolei's rather dark expression.  
  
"France: Tai and TK."  
  
"Agumon?" Sora asked.  
  
"I'll tell you about everyone he talks to." Agumon replied.  
  
"Gee thanks." Tai replied sourly.  
  
"Oh, and there are others like me in all the cities you'll be going to. They'll be co-ordinating with the local digidestined, give you directions if you need it, and handle translations if needed." Gennai glanced at Izzy.  
  
"Okay, that's everyone." Izzy said, still not meeting anyone's eyes. "We should leave soon, half an hour, if possible. Say your goodbyes. I...hello?" Izzy said, seeing a face he didn't recognise.   
  
"Uhh, I followed Cody here." Noriko said. That arched a few eyebrows. And took some of the attention off of Izzy (much to his relief -ed). "I think...well, I think I'm one of these digidestined too." she indicated Farfetch'd, and held up her digivice.  
  
"Um." Izzy said.  
  
"I'll fill her in." Gennai replied. "You'd better get going." Everyone else nodded, and left. "So...this is a pokemon, right?"  
  
"Far." the duck pokemon responded, smacking Gennai with his green onion.  
  
==  
  
Ryo had started to head to Ken's place, when he noticed Caryl following him. "Caryl?" He stopped. Caryl was normally cheerful and, well...hyper. Now, she looked almost...worried?  
  
"You'll be careful, right?" Caryl asked.  
  
"Hey, it's me." Ryo replied. "Besides, I'll have Joe with me. Tell you what, I'll be careful if you promise not to torment Cody too much, alright?"  
  
The old Caryl was back. "Awww. He's so much fun, he just needs to lighten up!"  
  
"I will keep her restrained. If I can." Renamon sighed, resigned. She looked up. "And I will make sure nothing happens to her."  
  
"Thanks." Ryo replied.  
  
"Oh, Ryo?" Caryl asked. "I want a big ceremony, with a live band, and a huge cake for the reception."  
  
"Bwaah?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Our wedding, silly! I'm not letting June beat me!" Ryo facefaulted, and Caryl cracked up.  
  
==  
  
Seth got off the phone, still bleary-eyed. He had been rudely woken up that morning when a small herd of Pagumon had trotted through town, and had been up the rest of the day trying to herd them back to the nearest computer. "I'm glad this is one of the new models." he sighed, glancing at Wizardmon. "Okay, I just talked to Izzy, and we're going to meet Casey and Kyle Evanick on the way to South California. There's a control spire there that needs to be busted, and a lot of loose digimon."  
  
Wizardmon nodded. "Well then. How shall we get there?"  
  
"How? Uhh...well, can't you, you know...'whoosh' us there?"  
  
"'Whoosh'?"  
  
"You know, do that magic thing and teleport us? You are a wizard, right?"  
  
"Ahh...I don't do the teleport thing..."  
  
Seth sighed. "This is gonna be a long walk..."  
  
==  
  
"Mmm-Hmm...right. Okay, I'll make my way there. Okay, see you there, Mimi." Stuart hung up the phone. "So, how do I get to New York?"  
  
"Swim?" Monodramon suggested.  
  
"Hmm...Hey, I know! Come on!" Stuart aimed his digivice at the screen.  
  
"But I thought the digiports were all scrambled!" Monodramon protested.  
  
"To the Digital World, yes. But we can take a shortcut through the Pokemon World instead! Digiport Open!"  
  
==  
  
Ken heard a knock on his door. Briefly, he wondered if it was his mom again, trying to talk him out of this latest adventure. He opened the door and saw..."Yolei?"  
  
"Your dad let me in. Look, about yesterday-"  
  
Ken tried not to panic. "Ahh...I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me."  
  
This is the guy I had a crush on? Yolei tried not to laugh. "It's alright, I'm...okay with it. Just ask next time, alright?"  
  
"S-Sure...Umm, I noticed you had a new outfit the last time we were in the digital world."  
  
Yolei nodded. "Yeah, that was a really brilliant piece of software, Ken! It took me a while to figure it out, but I managed to get it to stop giving me my regular digital world outfit and store a new outfit on my D-3."  
  
"Oh...well, it looked nice."  
  
Yolei stammered for a second, then recovered. "Well of course it looked nice." she replied, smirking. "I mean, who needs phys ed when you're saving the digital world? I spent hours trying to get it right." She stepped closer to Ken. "And I'm glad someone appreciated it."  
  
Hawkmon and Wormmon were watching this from the doorway. "I'm worried about Ken. Is he alright?" Wormmon asked Hawkmon.  
  
Hawkmon sighed. "I'm just glad she's not going completely crazy. For the longest time it was Ken this and Ken that."  
  
"I heard that!" Yolei snapped.  
  
==  
  
"Newton? That's not even in America!"  
  
Monodramon sighed. "You and your shortcuts."  
  
==  
  
"You will do fine, Cody." his grandfather said. "Do not worry, I will keep an eye on your mother. Now you be careful. And remember to keep your arms up!"  
  
"Yes grandpa."  
  
"Good. And I expect you to behave yourself around this girl you'll be with."  
  
"I'll try. But she's...well, very hyper."  
  
"Nevertheless, I expect you to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. Armadillomon? Please make sure Cody is unharmed."  
  
"Will do!" Armadillomon said, standing on his back legs and making a passable salute.  
  
==  
  
"Newport?" Stuart looked at the sign. "I wanted New York!"  
  
"Well, Izzy said the digiports were a bit scrambled. One more time?"  
  
==  
  
"So, we're off to save the world again." Tai sighed. "You think I'd be more...I don't know, worked up."  
  
"You're just worn out." Sora told him. "With everything that's been happening. Maybe when this is over, we could go back to that beach in the Orange Islands?" She glanced at Matt. "You and Mimi could come too."  
  
Matt looked at the sky. "I could use a break. So could Mimi. I wonder how her parents are taking this. They must be freaked with digimon appearing in New York." Matt looked around. "Where's Kari?"  
  
"Over there." Tai said. "With Izzy." He and Matt tried not to laugh.  
  
"Oh, stop it, you two." Sora said, mock-annoyed. "I think it's sweet, what's going on between those two."  
  
==  
  
"Honestly, Kari. I didn't rig it." Izzy said.  
  
"Oh?" Kari pouted. "I almost wish you had."  
  
"With Tai within kicking distance?" Izzy asked.  
  
"Oh...Look, Tai's alright with us seeing each other. He just likes to act tough, you know that."  
  
"I know. I just..." Izzy sighed, unsure what to say next.  
  
"Izzy? How about, after this is over, we go to dinner somewhere? Just you and me, no digimon or battles or evil plans to take over the world?"  
  
"You mean, a date?"  
  
"Well, what else would it be? So, can we?" Izzy nodded, speechless. "Great." Kari stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him.  
  
==  
  
"NEWARK?"  
  
"Hey, we're getting closer?"  
  
==  
  
"TK?"   
  
TK looked up. He was in his room, putting a few things together for his trip to France. "Davis? What are you doing here?"  
  
Davis sighed. "Oh, I just had to get out. Kyle was getting the third degree from dad, and June was freaking out. It wasn't pretty. So, you ready?"  
  
"Ivysaur seemed to be." TK nodded to the pokemon, who was following Davis around.  
  
"Yeah, I let him out once we got here. Kyle gave me his pokeball for the trip."  
  
"Davis, I'm sure Melody's fine." TK said.  
  
"Huh? Well, yeah, of course she is. I mean, she's learned from the best, right?"  
  
"Sure Davis, the best."  
  
Veemon spoke up. "And she's got a V-Mon of her very own too! You can't go wrong with a digimon like that!"  
  
TK and Patamon glanced at each other, trying not to laugh.   
  
==New York  
  
Mimi looked up the stairs. She had just reassured her parents that she would be fine as long as Palmon was here, hung up the phone, and had started up the stairs to get changed into something a bit warmer.  
  
However, there was a loud crash coming from her room. "It must be looters." She whispered. "Oh, Palmon, please, come back in here, I need you!" Morbidly, she listened, wondering how many there were.  
  
"I think this is the place!"  
  
"Well it's about time! You and your shortcut! We went through how many places to get here? And we wind up in a girl's bedroom?"  
  
"Hey, you weren't exactly a lot of help, pal! Come on, let's go find everyone." The door opened.  
  
"Huh. Something smells familiar." the second voice said. Both were getting close.  
  
Frantic, Mimi looked around. Seeing no useable weapon, she clenched a fist, and got ready. "GET LOST, PERVERTS!" she shrieked, swinging blindly. She felt her fist hit something, which went down almost instantly.  
  
"Ahh! Stuart!" Monodramon yelled. "Wake up! Can you hear me?"  
  
Mimi gasped. "Stuart? Oh God, I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were coming by digiport! Oh, please wake up! Are you alright?"  
  
"No problem..." Stuart moaned, lying on the floor, dazed. "I'll do the math test now, Mr. Kennedy..."  
  
"Mimi!" Palmon shouted, running in. "I heard screams, are you all...Oh, hello Monodramon. Umm, you're a bit early."  
  
"Thank Sam Beckett here." Monodramon sighed as Mimi helped Stuart up and into a chair.  
  
==And back to Tokyo!  
  
There were several dozen tearful farewells from the parents to the digidestined as they got ready to leave. All of the digidestined had lunches made for them, some useful odds and ends like mapbooks and whatever foreign money could be gotten hold of.  
  
"You ready?" Davis called to Ken, June, and Kyle. The other three nodded. "All right, let's do it!"  
  
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon!"  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"  
  
"Exveemon...Stingmon...DNA digivolve to...Paildramon!"  
  
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"  
  
"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"  
  
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"  
  
"Komainumon...Paildramon...Mega Jogress digivolve to...Imperialdramon!"  
  
The parents gasped as the four digimon grew, combined, and combined again, into the giant dragon that had helped save the city only two days earlier. The children were wrapped in white light, and reappeared inside a glowing white dome on Imperialdramon's back. They all waved as the dragon levitated, then seemed to vanish.  
  
"Where...?" Nancy Takashi gasped.  
  
Gennai looked at the parents. "Don't worry. Imperialdramon is capable of moving at incredible speeds. By now, he should be near Australia. Then he'll circle up, dropping teams off all over the globe, ending at North America, where the four teams will take care of the digimon there. Then they'll summon Imperialdramon again, and pick everyone up for the trip home.  
  
"As I said, you have no need to worry. I have watched all of them, and I know they'll do just fine. All we can do is wait."  
  
Mr. Ishida sighed. "Wish I'd brought a camera crew. I'd have loved to have a picture of this for when they get back." He glanced at his ex-wife. "They do grow up fast, don't they?"   
  
Nancy nodded. "Despite everything we do, yes. I can't even stop him from dating."  
  
Mikah nodded. "Seems to be a problem, with this digital world stuff. Monsters flying around, children acting all mature and saving the world...I don't know about you, but I'm feeling almost obsolete."  
  
"Oh, it's not that bad." Mikhail spoke up. "They're still not old enough to drive. And we do control their allowances."  
  
==St. Louis, Missouri  
  
Michael gasped as he saw Imperialdramon land just outside the airport, letting off five kids about his own age and one digimon, and then Imperialdramon split into four more digimon. "Hey, long time no see!"  
  
"Michael!" Davis yelled, running over. "We're just off to save the world. And you?"  
  
"Oh, just try and stop me." Michael replied. "Okay, my dad's managed to book everyone flights to their respective areas. Just give your pilot a call and he'll bring you back here. Kyle, June, you're on the next jet to Vancouver, but you might have to do a bit of hiking; I don't know if Vancouver Airport's still open with all the digimon around."  
  
"We'll manage." Kyle said. "If things get really bad, we can take the Pyroangemon express."  
  
"What about Arcanine?"  
  
"Worn out, the poor thing." June said. "He doesn't have an in training form to fall back on, so he'll rest."  
  
"Eh, I can handle things just fine." Eevee said, perched on Kyle's shoulder.  
  
"Good. Oh, congratulations." Michael glanced at Ken and Matt. "I've got you on a minijet to Mexico, you'd better get going too. Davis, that leaves you and me. My dad's flying us to New York."  
  
"Cool!" With that, everyone left.  
  
==New York  
  
Davis hopped off the jet, Veemon following him. "Wow. So this is New York! Cool! I wonder if we have time to catch a game here?"  
  
"Or eat those big apples they have here!" Veemon added, looking around. "Funny. I don't smell any apples."  
  
"No, Veemon, New York is called the Big Apple." Davis explained.  
  
"I thought it was called New York."  
  
"It is, but it's also called the Big Apple sometimes."  
  
"Oh! Like when June calls you Davis, but also sometimes calls you an idiot!"  
  
"Yeah. Like that."  
  
"Davis!" Mimi yelled from the other side of the chain-link fence. "Over this way!"  
  
"Hey, Mimi! Palmon!" Davis ran over. "Stuart? Uh...what happened to your eye?"  
  
"Don't ask." Stuart replied, still holding an ice pack over his left eye. "And don't. Ask. Monodramon. Either. Got it?" Gulping, Monodramon nodded.  
  
"Ah, good, you're here!" an adult said, running over.  
  
"Gennai?" Davis gasped.  
  
"Close. I'm Benjamin, the local Gennai clone."  
  
Michael, who had been holding back, looked at Stuart, then Mimi. "Right hook?" Embarrassed, Mimi nodded.  
  
"You punched out Stuart?" Veemon asked. Stuart said nothing. The pokeball Davis was carrying chose that moment to open.  
  
"Ivysaur!" Palmon squealed, running to the fence. Ivysaur ran over, then tried to pry the fence open.  
  
"Uhh...the door's just over here." Benjamin said as Ivysaur's vines started to pull the wires   
  
apart.  
  
==  
  
"A digicore?" Mimi gasped, looking at the small object floating over Davis' D-3.  
  
"Yeh, I got it from Gennai just before I left. We were able to power up the other digimon so they could go Ultimate again."  
  
"I can become Lillymon again?" Palmon asked.  
  
"Down boy." Stuart said to Monodramon. "Hormonal reptile."  
  
"Ryouga wannabe."  
  
"I got us here, didn't I?"  
  
"Children, please." Benjamin said, trying to break the two up. "Okay, there are several digidestined up in the north part of town, they'll drive the digimon here towards Times Square. It should be pretty easy to handle, really. Michael and Seadramon went ahead to check on the others' progress."  
  
"Looks like we got the easy job." Davis said. "I can deal with that."  
  
"It looks like all of the digimon came from the Digital World, not the Dark Ocean. They're more confused and scared than anything." Benjamin looked up. "Lou and the others should be here soon. Umm, you two done?"  
  
"Hey, we're having a moment, alright?" Palmon replied, who was talking to Ivysaur. "Can't a girl talk to her boyfriend?"  
  
"I'm gonna have to see the children from this one." Benjamin muttered.  
  
Mimi threw a snowball at Benjamin. "You lout!" She glanced at Stuart and Davis.  
  
"What?" Stuart asked, still holding an icepack to his head. "We agree completely!"   
  
"Yes, he is a lout." Monodramon added.  
  
"Well, you'd know." Stuart muttered.  
  
==  
  
Phil looked around, watching the procession of digimon following him. "We're near Times Square!" he called. "We should be able to get everyone home!"  
  
"Great!" Steve, Phil's friend replied called back. "Once this is done, we can sit back and relax. Who thought we'd be taming digimon on Christmas?"  
  
"Well," Maria answered, riding Centarumon, "it'll make for an interesting report."  
  
"Like anyone'd believe us." Lou answered, hanging onto Tortomon's back. "If our folks knew what we were doing, we'd be grounded for the next decade." He glanced at Maria. "So, Mimi and Michael are going to meet us there?"  
  
"Yeah. I think...Hey, Michael!" Maria called, waving.  
  
"Someone's happy." Florizamon said to Phil, who started laughing.  
  
"Trouble." Frigimon called. "I think Seadramon's making them a bit nervous. Okay everyone, nothing to see, just a giant flying serpent. Move along."  
  
Cherrymon panicked. "It's a trap!" he shouted. "Pit Pelter!" Everyone dove for cover as small bombs flew everywhere. Cherrymon ran off under cover of the smoke and dust.  
  
"I think your boyfriend freaked him!" Lou griped as Tortomon checked on him.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend!" Yet, Maria added.  
  
"We'll have to calm these digimon down before we can go after Cherrymon!" Tortomon said. There's too many of them to let loose now!"  
  
"Phil, send the other digidestined a message! Michael, you caused this, go check on the two Raremon at the end of the line!"  
  
"US?" Seadramon gasped. "What'd we do?"  
  
==  
  
Davis checked his D-Terminal. "Email? Looks like one of the digimon panicked and ran off! And the others are too busy trying to keep everyone else calm." He looked up. "It's up to us!"  
  
"Then it's time to fly!" Mimi said. "Palmon, digivolve!"  
  
"Palmon, digivolve to...LILLYMON!" The digicore Davis had brought allowed Palmon to skip her champion form and evolve straight to Lillymon. "Wow. It's been a while, hasn't it?"  
  
Stuart glanced at Monodramon. "I said DOWN boy!" Exasperated, he bounced a snowball off of the dragon's head. Giggling, Lillymon knelt down, picked up Ivysaur (who went from bluish-green to red), and flew off.  
  
"Lucky little planter." Monodramon grumbled. "Monodramon digivolve to a heartbroken-" he stopped as Stuart glared at him. "Uh, I mean...Monodramon, digivolve to...Strikedramon!"  
  
"Good." Stuart said. "Now go run it off." he pointed in the direction Lillymon had gone. "Umm, any chance of a lift?"  
  
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon! All aboard!"  
  
==  
  
Confused, Cherrymon attacked anything that didn't look right to him. Of course, in downtown New York, this was darn near anything that wasn't a tree. And there weren't a lot of those where he was headed.  
  
"I'm surrounded...the air smells of death...I'll destroy them all!"  
  
"There he is!" someone called. Cherrymon looked, and saw a digimon approaching. Humanoid, large claws...ENEMY! "Okay, let's just..."  
  
"Pit Pelter!"  
  
Strikedramon dove back as several explosions went off around him. "Found him!" he called, then ran forward again. "Okay, buddy. There's a girl I'm trying to impress, and you're my ticket! Strike Claw!"  
  
"Illusion Mist!"  
  
"Ah, nuts!" Strikedramon yelled as the mist washed over him.  
  
==  
  
"Strikedramon? Strikedramon!" Stuart called. "I could have sworn he was around here."  
  
Davis glanced at his D-3. "According to this, he should be right around here. Where are we?"  
  
"Empire State Building." Mimi said, pointing up. "I mean...whaaa?"  
  
Davis and Stuart looked up. "S...Strikedramon?" Stuart gasped. Currently, his partner was wrapped up in Cherrymon's vines, and was being carried up the side of the building by the tree digimon!  
  
"Wow. For an oversized oak tree, he can really move." Davis muttered.  
  
"A LITTLE HELP UP HERE?" Strikedramon shouted. "This is *so* embarrassing!"  
  
"Biplanes?" Stuart suggested.  
  
"Leave it to me!" Exveemon said, flying up.  
  
"Just wait here, alright?" Lillymon said, putting Ivysaur down, then following Exveemon.  
  
"Be careful!" Mimi yelled. "Cherrymon's got a hostage!"  
  
"That idiot probably tried to show off. Again." Stuart grumbled. "GET HIM DOWN HERE SO I CAN KICK HIS BUTT!"  
  
Exveemon, only hearing part of this, nodded. "Kick his butt? Alright, here I go! Cover me!  
  
"Exveemon, wait!" Lillymon yelled, then dodged as a swarm of bombs started falling from Cherrymon. "Flower Cannon!"  
  
Cherrymon was distracted by Lillymon's attack. Exveemon took the opportunity to fly around behind the tree digimon, and kicked him off the ledge of the Empire State Building.  
  
"Strikedramon!" Stuart yelled. Cherrymon landed hard on the skating rink, Exveemon following close behind.  
  
"Don't worry...the evil tree monster broke my fall."  
  
"Enemies!" Cherrymon yelled. "Take this!" With that, vines shot out, tangling up everyone except Ivysaur.  
  
"Lillymon!" Mimi shouted as her partner was wrapped up.  
  
"Prepare to be plant food!" Cherrymon flinched as a spray of Razor Leaves hit him in the face. "Who dares?"  
  
"Saur..." Ivysaur challenged.  
  
"Ivysaur!" Lillymon shouted.  
  
"Free Exveemon!" Davis yelled.  
  
"Please, don't let me owe my life to Ivysaur!" Strikedramon begged.  
  
"SHUT UP AND LET HIM RESCUE US!" everyone else yelled back.  
  
The two plant monsters immediately went at it, Ivysaur's Vine Whips blocking Cherrymon's vines, Cherrymon's bombs blocking Ivysaur's Razor Leaves.  
  
"Why did you want to free Exveemon first?" Mimi asked Davis, who was trying to get his arm free.  
  
"I have a plan." Davis replied. Mimi repressed a shudder. "Okay, now!"  
  
"SAUR!" Ivysaur yelled. Even evacuated, New York had a lot of lights. It wasn't as good as sunlight, but it was enough for Ivysaur to pull off a low powered Solar Beam. The ray of light stabbed out, severing the vine that held Exveemon. That digimon glowed, and became Veemon.  
  
At the same moment, Davis got his hand free, and held out his D-Terminal. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Flamedramon, the fire of courage!" The armoured digimon landed beside Ivysaur. "Okay, you're a giant tree, and I use fire attacks. Do we really have to do the math here?" TO underline his point, Flamedramon's hand rippled with a bright orange flame.   
  
Cherrymon subsided. "I'll be good."  
  
"Good. Now put everyone down. Gently. Yes, Strikedramon too." Cherrymon did so. Lillymon pulled away, running towards the two. "Please, no need to-"  
  
"Oh, Ivysaur!" Lillymon wailed. "I was so scared! And you came to save me, just like you always do!" she sniffed, holding the pokemon close.  
  
"Hey, what about me?" Flamedramon asked.  
  
==  
  
"Well, that went well." Davis said offhandedly. "All the digimon are back in the Digital World, and...where's Ivysaur?"  
  
"Don't ask." Monodramon snapped.   
  
"There's still a few digimon left to go through the portal." Benjamin said. "He and Palmon are helping the other digidestined out."  
  
"Keener." Monodramon growled. "What's that four-legged flowerbox got that I don't?"  
  
"Charm?" Mimi suggested.  
  
"Mad battling skills?" Davis added.  
  
Stuart shrugged. "Built in Wave Motion Cannon?"  
  
"Co-ordinated body colours?" Veemon hazarded. Groaning, Monodramon went off to have a good sulk until the plane arrived.  
  
==Hong Kong (Interlude)  
  
"Think they're all right up there?" Tentomon asked. The group was on a double decker bus, headed towards where Kari's D-3 had indicated a digimon in the vicinity.  
  
"Yeah." Gatomon replied. Around her neck was Kari's digital camera. "Kari knows I have this, in case I have to prove anything."  
  
Up on the top deck, Kari and Izzy sat together, thought they were both a little uncomfortable, knowing that they were being watched by Gatomon. "I wish mom would trust us a little. You'd think we were going to elope or something."  
  
"Well, that's what parents do, right?" Izzy replied. "Dad decided to sit me down for ten minutes and lecture me. Tentomon nearly fell asleep."  
  
"What? Oh, now I know how June feels! What did he say?"  
  
"Oh, he made me promise to...what was it...oh yeah, 'not to lay so much as a finger on Kari, be alone with her for more than a minute, talk about going on a date, getting engaged, marriage, or what to name the kids'. Your mom stopped him before he got too far along."  
  
Kari giggled. "I guess Kyle and June got them all scared. And, I don't care what movie we go to see, when I'm in high school, after I get my teaching certificate, and Kyoko."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The date, getting engaged, when we get married, and what to name the kids, silly." Kari smiled. "So this way, you can't get in trouble if dad finds out." Both of them relaxed a bit. "See? I have everything all figured out."  
  
"What if it's a boy?" Izzy asked playfully.  
  
"Don't be silly. Girls make much better digidestined than boys."  
  
Izzy opened his mouth, then thought for a second. "Well, Sora probably wouldn't have let Tai and Matt fight each other so often. Hmm...I'll have to study that."  
  
"Call her a test subject and I go to both your parents." Gatomon said, poking her head up out of the stairwell.  
  
(Note: The rest of the Hong Kong sequence went pretty much as it did in the original TV series, so there's not much need for me to retell it here. Okay, the Phoi brothers were a little miffed when they found out Izzy and Kari were about to start dating, but they got over it. And the eldest did take a bit of a shine to Mina. And Gatomon did get a few embarrassing shots of Kari and Izzy together. -ed)  
  
==Vancouver  
  
June looked around. "It's so...wet here." It was a small downpour, the two humans and their partners standing under an awning on one of the main streets. "I thought it was winter."  
  
"Welcome to the Wet Coast (that's NOT a typo. -ed)." the local Gennai said. "Hi, I'm David, one of Gennai's counterparts. You must be Kyle and June. Oh, congratulations."  
  
Kyle sighed. "Does EVERYONE know about our engagement?"  
  
"The ring is a give-away." June sighed. "But I don't mind the attention!"  
  
"Well, we'd better get going. Are your digimon ready to fight?"  
  
"Well, Growlithe's resting in his pokeball, but Eevee's ready to go. And I let Scizor out when we got here but I...HEY, STOP HORSING AROUND AND GET DOWN HERE!" Kyle suddenly yelled.  
  
"In a second!" Scizor yelled back. "Metal Claw!" he shouted, grabbing Musyamon's blade and wrenching it out of the digimon's grip. he dodged around the disarmed digimon and, with a second claw swipe, hurled Musyamon towards the ground.   
  
"Digiport open!" Kyle said, opening up a digiport, drawing Musyamon in (And his sword).  
  
"Showoff." Elecmon muttered.  
  
"You should see him when he actually has to fight someone." Eevee replied. "He's almost as good as...I am, come to think of it."  
  
Scizor glanced at Eevee. "Please. Kyle, I think I saw a few more digimon two blocks over. I couldn't see how many, though. They're kicking up too much dust."  
  
"Well, let's go then!" June said.  
  
"Yes dear." Kyle replied. June stuck her tongue out at him, then headed down the street, Kyle following her.  
  
David glanced at Scizor. "You didn't tell him? I know you talked with Gennai before we left."  
  
"After this is over." Scizor followed Kyle down the road, as did David. "Are there any other digidestined here?"  
  
"Three." David replied. "And they should be here in about fifteen minutes. Vancouver's closed up with all the monsters flying around. There's Kaari (Pronounced 'Kerry' -ed), he's got a Veedramon partner, Yuri, she has a Yashamon for a partner, and Kei, with her partner Deputymon."  
  
"Not another one." Scizor groaned.  
  
"Relax. This one's smarter. If you don't mind Kei. She's...excitable."  
  
==  
  
Kyle looked at his digivice, incredulous. "Jagamon." he said, looking at the small herd of digimon milling around aimlessly.  
  
"A whole herd of them." June added.  
  
"Don't be too careless." Leomon said. "They may look placid, but they can cause a lot of damage if they start stampeding."  
  
"Maybe we can drive them towards a digiport with Pidgeot." Kyle thought out loud. "She could do it with Whirlwind; it wouldn't do too much damage around here."  
  
"Odd." David said. "When I saw them, they were kicking up quite a ruckus. And I think there was another digimon with them."  
  
"I don't see anyone." Kyle said, looking around. "Just a herd of Jagamon. Well, I guess-"  
  
"AHH! HUMAN!" one of the Jagamon shouted, starting another stampede. With a mighty roar, the entire herd took off away from the small group of digidestined.  
  
"Okayyy..." June trailed off.  
  
==  
  
"Why won't you just STAY DOWN!" the redhead snarled. "Deputymon, keep trying to bring him down!"  
  
"Will do, pardner!" Deputymon replied. "JUSTICE BULLET!" The giant cannon that made up his torso erupted, firing off a massive bullet. The bullet's target evaded the shot, cackling madly.  
  
"Kei!" the raven-haired girl beside Kei said. "Keep that up and we'll level half the city! Really, you could try showing a little restraint!"  
  
"Hah! The only way we're going to finish this oversized turkey off is by blowing him out of the sky, not by sneaking around like your little stickboy's doing!" There was a sudden cracking noise, and Kei looked up. A blue-skinned humanoid carrying a pair of wooden swords had jumped on the back of the Vilemon they were fighting, and smacked it on the back of its head.  
  
"Good work Yashamon!" Yuri shouted. "See, Kei?"  
  
"Show-off."  
  
"Hothead."  
  
"Jerk."  
  
"V-Breath Arrow!" The attack knocked out the Bakemon that was making its way over to where they were standing.  
  
"If you two are quite done?" the boy asked, shaking his head. He was a bit older than the two girls, thin, had dark hair, and wore glasses (Think Keanu Reeves, but smarter. -ed). "Nice shot."  
  
"Eh, someone had to do it." Veedramon said, lumbering into view. "But whoever sent those other digimon here is serious. Oh, Kaari, I think I saw at least one more Bakemon, but it took off before I could get it."  
  
"Well, it's not hard to...find..." Kaari said. "I think we should start running now."  
  
"Why?" Kei asked.  
  
"Yeah, we took down both of them." Deputymon added.  
  
"Yes, and a fine job you two did of that. But I'm really more worried about that." Kaari answered, pointing down the road. At the herd of Jagamon. Heading in their direction. "Very fast we should run." he Yoda'd for effect, then took his own advice, everyone else following him.  
  
"Can't we just blast 'em?" Kei asked, still running.  
  
"Too many!" Yuri replied. "Unless you want to rip up half the city!"  
  
"I can live without Harbour Centre!"  
  
"Oh sure, just because you didn't get into Simon Fraser University!"  
  
"Could we deal with this later!" Kaari yelled, exasperated. Unlike the other two, Kaari was able to get a ride on his digimon, and was seriously considering charging into battle with the Jagamon herd, just to get away from those two bickering. He turned, and saw that the Jagamon had stopped.  
  
"Oooh! He's so BIG!" Kei squealed.  
  
"Um." Leomon answered, not sure how to take this.  
  
==  
  
Gennai and Kyle were sending the last of the Jagamon through a digiport. While they were working, June was introducing herself to the local digidestined.  
  
"So, been here long?" Yuri asked June.  
  
"No, just a few hours. We're from Japan. Well, I am. Kyle's from a little place called Stone Town."  
  
"Oh, he's the one from another planet?" Kei asked. "So, what's it like dating an alien?"  
  
"Kei!" Yuri snapped, elbowing the redhead.  
  
"What? He's not from this planet!"  
  
"It's an alternate dimension, Kei. Honestly, if you'd read a bit more..."  
  
"Yes, they're always like this." Kaari sighed. "Our digimon showed up here about a month ago. Too bad Kei's into heavy artillery."  
  
"We do make the perfect pair." Deputymon said, nodding. He glanced at Scizor. "Hey, I had a cousin who said he fought a red bug. That you? Cause I'm a lot stronger than he is."  
  
"He would beat you in a second." Yashamon said. "His power is quite evident."  
  
"Ahh, don't feed me none of that mystic samurai spider sense garbage." Deputymon grunted. "I say I can take you in a fight." Scizor didn't reply, he just stared at Deputymon. "Well, you gonna fight, or just stand there like a Woodmon with rootrot?"  
  
June opened her mouth, but was stopped by Kaari. "Can't stop it, just let him get it out of his system. It's not a full day until he's insulted someone a lot stronger than he is. Umm, he won't completely destroy Deputymon, will he?"  
  
"I don't think so. Kyle did do a good job of training him. And he's fought Ultimate level digimon and survived."  
  
"Ultimate?" Kei asked. June was about to answer when there was a blur of motion. Deputymon tried to draw a gun, but Scizor seemed to flicker, then vanished. He reappeared behind Deputymon, one claw aimed at the back of the digimon's head, yellow energy of a Hyper Beam starting to build up. "Cool." Kei whispered.  
  
"Any questions?" Scizor asked.  
  
"Um, no..."  
  
June held back a groan, then looked up. "Kyle?" she asked hearing him call her name.  
  
==A minute beforehand  
  
David closed the laptop, and Kyle sighed as the last of the Jagamon were herded through. "Well, that was easier than I thought."  
  
David nodded. "Well, they can't all be wild battles. I...Huh?" David looked at the ground, which seemed to be shaking.   
  
They both heard the roar. Kyle went white, hearing it. "No, it couldn't be."  
  
"What?" David asked, but Kyle was already off, running towards the harbour and calling June's name.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" Eevee asked, running alongside. "What's all the..." he stopped as he heard the roar. "That was..."  
  
"Kyle!" June yelled, running towards him. "What is it?"   
  
"Trouble!" Kyle answered, as he rounded a corner. He skidded to a stop, and June crashed into him. He got up, helped June up, and turned to see..."Gyarados..." There were three of them. Giant blue serpents, faces locked in a perpetual scowl, thrashing around the harbour, smashing the docks to bits. "How'd they get here?"  
  
"More digimon?" Leomon asked.   
  
"No, pokemon!" Kyle answered. He held up a hand as Deputymon raised a gun. "No! They're not digimon, they're living beings! If you attack, you might kill them!" He glanced at June. "How about a digiport?"  
  
June shook her head. "No. Stuart emailed me and said that the digiport between this world and the pokemon world are all messed up! There's no telling where they might end up."  
  
"Then we'll have to catch them."  
  
"Catch them?" Kaari asked. "Umm, with what?"  
  
"Pokeballs. But I don't have any empty ones with me. I'll have to go back to Stone Town and get some."  
  
Kei looked baffled. "But I thought that the digi-doors or whatever they were screwed up! How are you going to get to wherever this Stone Town is?"  
  
Yuri nodded. "You might not be as lucky as Stuart was (no jokes! -ed). It could take forever to get there."  
  
"No choice. Eevee, digivolve to Pyroangemon and help out here. I'll be right back. I hope." Eevee nodded, and quickly evolved into the fire angel. Kyle aimed his digivice at David's computer. "Digiport open!" With a flash, he vanished.  
  
"Good luck." June whispered.  
  
The Gyarados started howling, then surged forward. They identified the digimon as possible enemies, and struck first, hyper beams firing wildly.  
  
==  
  
Kyle exited the port, looked around for some sign. "This is...Shogun Geckomon's village?"  
  
Ninjamon appeared in front of Kyle. "Where's Scizor? I challenge him to a duel!"  
  
"AW, COME ON!"  
  
==  
  
Above her, Pyroangemon deflected a hyper beam, while Deputymon and Yashamon teamed up on the closer of the three Gyarados. June ducked, and saw Leomon starting to wade out. "Don't! They're water-type pokemon, you'll be at a disadvantage!" Reluctantly, Leomon stepped back. "Scizor, can you draw one of the Gyarados to Leomon? He can knock them out easily enough once they're on land."  
  
"Risky, but good idea." Scizor replied. "You've been hanging around Kyle too long; you're starting to think like a pokemon trainer."  
  
June smirked. "Heh. Maybe I'll try to be a gym leader some day."  
  
"DUCK!" Veedramon shouted. June did so, just as Pyroangemon flew down, deflecting another Hyperbeam with his shield. The blast struck, and bounced off the shield, heading at an angle into the city.  
  
==  
  
James McNider sighed. The campus was closed for the season, and he had just finished cleaning up the 6th floor of the Simon Fraser University Academic Quadrangle. So he was understandably perturbed when the Hyper Beam Pyroangemon just deflected managed to shear off the north-east corner of the building (give me an 'F' in History 337? TAKE THAT, SFU! -ed).  
  
==  
  
The portal flared again, and Kyle stepped out (carrying with him a hand-written challenge letter to be given to Scizor when he could manage it.) He saw he was in a pokemon centre, took off out the door, and made for the nearest store he could find.  
  
"I NEED 20 ULTRA BALLS QUICK!"  
  
He calmed down quickly after the shopkeeper called out his Machamp.  
  
==  
  
Kaari glanced over to where Deputymon and Yashamon were battling. "Okay, now!" he yelled. Veedramon ran over, tackling the first Gyarados. Unfortunately, this left him wide open for the third Gyarados to charge at him. Scizor's Hyper Beam cut the space between human and pokemon, distracting the latter and allowing the former to get clear. Scizor charged forward, claws crackling with energy.  
  
"We're doing it!" Kaari said. "Once Kyle gets back, we can trap 'em and take 'em home!"  
  
"Shame we can't cut loose." Kei complained. "Those Jagamon were almost pathetic!"  
  
"Hey, at least we didn't have to wreck half the city fighting them." Yuri replied. As she spoke, the computer David was carrying flared, and Kyle stepped out. "I made it! Okay, get clear! Pokeball, go!" he shouted, hurling one of the pokeballs at the Gyarados Deputymon and Yashamon were fighting. It glowed red, then was pulled into the ball.  
  
"YEEE-HAW!" Deputymon yelled. "We got it!" So excited was he that he fired off his Justice Bullet, punching a hole in the side of Harbour Center.  
  
Kei looked at the hole in the building. "Oops..." she said, as Kaari, June, and Yuri facefaulted. Kyle, catching the other two Gyarados, missed it all.  
  
==  
  
"So...who's going to fix this?" June asked.  
  
"I made the mess, I'll fix it." Deputymon sighed.  
  
"You couldn't fix a sandwich." Yashamon replied.  
  
"What? You take that back!"  
  
"Make me, cannon brain!"  
  
"You're on, stick boy!" Kei and Yuri tried to break their partners up, before the expected fight could damage the downtown even more.  
  
Kaari and Veedramon sighed. "So, what will you two do now?"  
  
"Wait for Ken and Davis to signal us, I guess." Kyle answered. "We're all doing this simultaneously, so it shouldn't be too long."  
  
David nodded. "I'm keeping up with my other counterparts. Assuming that Mewtwo doesn't atomise Ilya in Russia, it should be about half an hour. Everyone else seems to be doing all right."  
  
"Half an hour?" Kaari asked. "Hey, I know a place nearby. It's an Italian coffee place called Callabria, it's still open. Wanna go?"  
  
"Sure." June replied. Kyle nodded, and the group set off, trying hard to ignore the sword strikes and cannon fire behind them. A Starbucks store caught a Justice Bullet, but no one minded.  
  
==Australia  
  
"Mmm...I love this place!" Caryl said. It was bright, sunny and warm. "I wish I'd known we were going to the beach."  
  
"There is no time for that now." Renamon said. "Over there. See the spire?"  
  
"That didn't take long." Cody said. "Digmon can destroy it, right?"  
  
"I'm surprised that more people aren't freaking out here." Armadillomon looked around. "Must be a really laid-back place."  
  
"I was here once, about a year ago." Caryl said. "Oh, alright." she grumbled, seeing Renamon's expression. "Come on, let's go wreck the spire."  
  
Cody nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Digmon, the wisdom of steel! Gold Rush!"  
  
Renamon jumped into the air, arms crossed. "Diamond Storm!"  
  
The two attacks hit the spire, smashing it in a second. "See, easy!" Digmon said. All around them, people had gathered, and started applauding. Caryl turned to the crowd and bowed.  
  
"Please don't encourage her." Renamon moaned.  
  
"Hey, I get little enough time for my adoring public!" Caryl replied. She nodded to one person in the crowd. "Hey, can you get our picture?" The boy, about her age, stepped forward, holding a large camera. "It's one of those ones that spits out the picture after you take it, right? Neat! Come over here, Cody!" Hooking her arm around Cody's, Caryl pulled the boy into the shot as Renamon and Digmon (Also at Caryl's 'request') stood behind them. There was a click, and the picture came out of the bottom of the camera.  
  
"Uhh..." Cody stammered, embarrassed by the attention.  
  
"See? You look adorable!" Caryl said. "I'll get a copy made and send it to you when this is all over!"  
  
A tall man looking like Gennai pushed through the crowd. "There you are! Come on, we have to destroy the control spire!"  
  
"But we just did." Cody replied.  
  
"There's another one out on the coral reefs, and the digimon around it are wrecking the whole place."  
  
"Like them?" Digmon asked, pointing out over the ocean.  
  
==  
  
Derek and Crabmon held onto the sailboard for dear life. Right now, they were being chased by Shellmon, Gesomon, and Ebidramon, just because Crabmon had made one stupid sushi joke. "Remind me to introduce you to my mom's boiler!" Derek said, trying to keep the craft upright.  
  
"Help's on the way! Oxygen Torpedo!" Gesomon and Ebidramon immediately turned and ran. Shellmon came after Submarimon.  
  
Derek gaped as a giant yellow fox jumped off of Submarimon, spun in mid-air, turned into a comet of bluish fire, and slammed into Shellmon. Even more stunning was the fact that there was a girl on the fox's back, seeming to have enjoyed the whole thing.  
  
"Great job, Kyuubimon!" Caryl shouted.  
  
"Are you alright? My Dragon Wheel can be a bit...intense." Kyuubimon replied.  
  
Submarimon pulled up beside Kyuubimon and Caryl, now safely perched on a floating (and unconcious) Shellmon. "Are you alright?" Cody asked.  
  
"Sure we are." Caryl replied. "I mean, it's not like we could have ridden inside Submarimon together. Unless you really wanted me in there with you." she added slyly. Cody stammered, turned a rather fascinating shade of red, and started studying his feet.  
  
"Caryl." Kyuubimon reprimanded her partner.  
  
"Are you for real?" Derek asked.  
  
"You bet!" Submarimon replied. "I'm Submarimon, that's Kyuubimon, the two humans are Cody and Caryl (she's the insane one), and you must be Derek. Hogan, the local Gennai clone, told us you'd be out here, so we decided to come lend a hand. Er, fin."  
  
"Pleased to meet you! I'm Crabmon, and Derek here is...well, Derek. Look, there's a black tower thingy on the reef nearby, and we need some help getting rid of it. Hey, how come you could digivolve?"  
  
"We destroyed the Spire on the beach." Caryl answered. "Are there any more digimon at the other spire?"  
  
"Yeah." Derek replied. "Ebidramon and Gesomon are on the way back there, and I think there's a Scorpiomon there too. We couldn't get close enough to make sure."  
  
"Well, then we'll have to, won't we?" Kyuubimon asked.  
  
==  
  
"We surrender!" Gesomon said to Kyuubimon. Beside him, Ebidramon was nodding eagerly.  
  
"You cowards!" Scorpiomon shouted. "Fight them!"  
  
"No way!" Ebidramon replied. "We didn't sign on for this! Come on, we're leaving!" With that, Gesomon and Ebidramon took off, diving into the water.  
  
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Cody said to Armadillomon. "Look, why don't you let us take that spire down, and we'll get you back to the Digital World?"  
  
"Never! I finally found a place that I love! The clean air! The pure ocean waters! No humans! I'm never leaving this place!"  
  
"Oh for..." Caryl said.  
  
"Allow us! Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"  
  
"Be careful!" Derek said. "You might damage the coral reef if you go stomping around like that!"  
  
"He's actually very light on his feet." Cody replied. "You heard him Ankylomon!"  
  
"You're not getting rid of me that easily!" Scorpiomon roared, charging forward.  
  
It was almost too easy. "Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon growled, spinning around and sending Scorpiomon flying with a single well-placed tail swipe.  
  
"I guess you are....!" Scorpiomon said, making a splash as he hit the water.  
  
"Mine!" Crabmon called. "Water's my element, and that oversized sandcrab's got nothing on me in the deep! Crabmon, digivolve to...Coelaman!" Coelamon dove in.  
  
"Should we follow him?" Kyuubimon asked.  
  
"Nahh, he can handle it." Derek replied. "But that spire's got to go."  
  
"Very well then. Foxtail Inferno!" The fireballs shattered the spiral, which promptly vanished. "As you said, Cody. This was rather anticlimactic."  
  
"Oh, I don't know. We got to travel, go to the beach, meet lots of interesting people, and save the world to boot! I like it." Caryl replied.  
  
"What about Coelamon?" Cody asked.  
  
"He'll be fine." Derek replied. "He's a lot faster than Scorpiomon underwater." A second later, Scorpiomon came running out, looking stricken.  
  
"Please, make him stop! That crazy freak's worse than that Gomamon's supposed to be!" Cody winced, having personal experience with Joe's partner's sense of humour. "I'll do anything, please, just make him go away!"  
  
"What did he do?" Caryl asked.  
  
Coelamon crawled out of the water. "What? I was just telling him about Goethe."  
  
"Who?" Cody asked. Derek shuddered.  
  
"You know, the German philosopher? Only wrote stuff in the morning. Only philosopher who went from bed to verse." Scorpiomon started running, actually jumping into the digital portal that Cody had opened on the laptop Caryl had brought. "What? I didn't even get a chance to tell him about the buddhist hamburger joint."  
  
Caryl blinked. "Eish?"   
  
"You know, the place that'll make you one with everything?"  
  
"I think we need Imperialdramon to pick us up." Armadillomon said, switching back to his rookie form. "Right *now*!"  
  
"I do not believe he would be dragon his tail." Kyuubimon replied.   
  
Caryl glanced at her partner, slightly nauseated by the bad pun. "Okay, Crabmon's not allowed to talk anymore!"  
  
"Try and stop me!" Crabmon replied. "I have an escape claws!" he added, snapping his two claws in the air.  
  
"That's it, I'm leaving." Hogan said, jumping into the water and swinging for the nearest boat. Fortunately, it was filled with the rest of the Australian digidestined, who were all too familiar with Crabmon.  
  
And yes, they did send all the Digimon home. Another 10 minutes of Crabmon's jokes, and the humans wanted to join them.  
  
Next Episode:  
  
The second part of the World Tour! Russia, France, Southern California, Mexico (well, a brief bit there.) and, courtesy of author NinetalesUK, Joe and Ryo in London! And a lot of digidestined. Lots. Too many to manage, almost...  
  
Digicross chapter 37:  
  
World's Tour Part 2 - The SoCal Dragon!  
  
Wow. Guest authors. I must be doing *something* right. 


	39. Worlds Tour Part 2: The SoCal Dragon!

--St. Petersburg, Russia 

Ilya stared at the creature, aghast. "There is no time!" he protested. "These digimon were only the first part of a much larger wave that is approaching from the north! We must intercept them now!"

For his part, Mewtwo glanced at Sora and Yolei, both of whom were shivering. Despite wearing their warmest clothes, they were still unprepared for the low temperatures of this zone. His psychic senses told him that they needed something to warm them both up, fast.

With no perceptible pause, Mewtwo looked at Ilya, not quite glaring. "They need food." he said, seemingly in fluent Russian. "They will not survive for long without some form of sustenance."

"But-" Ilya started to say, then stopped as Mewtwo's half-glare went to full power.

"They. Need. Food." Mewtwo said evenly. Everyone there felt a slight tingle as Mewtwo's powers started to activate. "Azulongmon would not appreciate two of the digidestined dying of exposure. Nor would I."

Ilya gulped. "Well, perhaps a quick snack?" he offered.

Digimon: Digicross Episode 38 -The SoCal Dragon!  
With guest co-writers NinetalesUk and Kyle Evanick. No, not the digidestined character, the real guy.

--Southern California

(Kyle Evanick & co's part, COMING SOON)

--France, just outside Paris

Tai and TK had already spent the better part of an hour trying to get their bearing. "I thought you had relatives here." Tai groused. "That's why we weren't dropped off in the middle of Paris, like we'd originally planned."

"Hey, it's not my fault!" TK replied. "I haven't even SEEN grandpa in years." Glancing at his D-3, he looked around. "I don't see anyone nearby, but my digivice is detecting digimon nearby. But I don't know if they're from the local digidestined or invaders."

"Hey, leave it to us!" Agumon spoke up. "With Gennai's powerup, I can blast anything that comes our way. Man, I've missed being able to become Metal Greymon. Tai, can I digivolve now please?"

"Not now, Agumon." Tai sighed. "Hey, any word from Crystal?"

TK shook his head. "It's only been a few hours." Patamon answered for TK. "Besides, she'll be fine."

"TK! TK, over here!" a girl yelled.

"Well, someone has a fan." Tai said, following TK over.

TK and Tai ran over to find two girls. One had long blonde hair and blue eyes; Tai might have said something if Agumon hadn't elbowed him. The other girl had short brown hair, and was in a wheelchair. "TK, it's been years! How have you been?"

TK blinked. "Umm...I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name..." he hazarded.

"Well, it has been about eight years. I'm Rei, remember? I was your neighbour? We moved here after that terrorist bombing at Heighton View?"

Tai gasped. "Hey, I remember you! You hung around with Sora a lot. She was really depressed after you left."

"You've seen Sora?" Rei asked. Tai blushed.

"I think he has, Rei. Hello, I am Catherine. Rei and I are both digidestined like yourselves. Come, your grandfather is expecting us."

The last time TK had seen his grandparents, it was when they had come to visit just after the divorce. After that, TK had seen lots of mail, mostly postcards, but little else. "Takeru!" his grandmother almost shouted, using TK's full name. "Oh, just look at you! You've become quite the handsome young man." She glanced at Tai. "And you must be Tai. Gerard said that you'd be coming to France. Oh, TK, I've missed you so."

While TK was being (thorougly) embarrassed by his grandmother, Tai went to talk to the other digidestined. Careful, he thought to himself. One slip and Sora will kill me.

"It's OK, Tai, I won't try to steal you away." Catherine said, enjoying Tai's nervousness. "Perhaps we should tell you what we know about the digimon here?" Tai nodded. "Alright. As far as we know, there are about four of them, but we don't know what kind of digimon they are. Our Floramon think that they might be machine-type, if that helps."

"Floramon?"

Rei nodded. "Yes. Both of us have Floramon for partners. I think they're out back with your digimon."

Tai groaned. "I hope Agumon's not showing off again."

"Don't worry." Rei answered. "There's two boys from Provence; they and their partner digimon are always trying to impress Catherine with some stupid stunt." She looked a little sad for a second, then brightened. "Well, we should get on with it, yes?"

"And that's when I beat Piedmon!" Agumon boasted.

"It was you AND Metal Garurumon, Agumon." Patamon amended. "And WHO finished off Piedmon?"

"You just finished what we started, Patamon! Come on, we did all the work!"

Both Floramon giggled at the two digimon. "Clearly, we are in the presence of truly great warriors!" One of the Floramon said. "I don't know how we could -ever- hope to live up to such legends like you."

"Agumon?" Patamon sighed.

"They don't buy it." Agumon sighed. "Save the world and I still don't get any respect."

"If you're done?" TK asked, leading Tai and the others out of the house. "We have to go to Paris. Gerard, he's the local Gennai clone, is busy with the digidestined in the south of France. But TK's grandpa is going to help us out."

"Can't help much, I'm afraid." TK's grandfather said, wheeling an old motorbike around. "I can carry two children and their partners on this, but no more!"

"What about the car?" Tai asked.

"Oh, well, I was in the middle of rebuilding the engine." TK's grandmother answered brightly.

Tai tried not to groan. "Rebuilding...Boy, TK, your grandma has some odd habits."

"That's nothing, you should see what I did to the roof!"

"Umm...thanks grandma." TK answered. "So, how should we do this?"

"Tai and I shall go." Catherine answered, taking Tai's arm. "We can start on opposite sides of the city, and work towards each other."

"Ahh...no argument here." Tai stammered. Rei and TK tried not to laugh too hard. "But what about you two?"

"Leave it to me." TK replied. "Go on. I promise I won't tell Sora." Tai glared at him, got in the sidecar, Agumon climbing in with him. Catherine took the seat behind TK's grandfather, Floramon putting her arms around the girl's waist. After a minute of getting comfortable, the trio took off.

"So, now what?" Rei asked.

"Oh wow!" Rei gasped. She, her Floramon, and TK were all being carried by Magna Angemon, headed towards the north part of the city. In the distance, TK could see the Eiffel Tower. "It must be really neat living near Paris." he said to Rei.

"A little." Rei answered. "I...don't get out too much. There was an auto accident about five years ago and...well, you can see what happened."

"Oh." TK said, falling silent.

After a minute of awkwardness, Rei spoke again. "I'm sorry, I had no right to dump that on you."

"It's OK." TK replied. "So, how'd you and Floramon meet?"

"I just showed up on her computer about three months ago." Floramon replied. "Catherine's Floramon showed up about the same time." She indicated the laptop she was carrying in a small black backpack.

"TK." Magna Angemon said. "We're getting near the target. I'm going to land here. Rei, can Floramon digivolve?" Both Rei and Floramon nodded. The group landed, TK helping Rei get back into her wheelchair. "Perhaps you should-" Magna Angemon started to say, but was cut off by a bomb exploding over his head.

"Well, well, well." Giromon said, brandishing his chainsaw. "What have we here? Lord Demon will be so thrilled that I managed to kill two digimon and their humans."

"Greymon, buy us a little more time!" Tai yelled. "Catherine, are you alright?"

It had started simply enough. Tai and Catherine, and their digimon, were planning to quietly sneak in and take care of the digimon that had invaded Castle Versailles. No problem.

However, Tai hadn't expected Metal Mamemon, one of three digimon in the castle, hear them coming and set up an ambush. Now all three Mamemon, Metal, Big, and unleaded (as Tai called the little spheroid) were hurling explosives.

"Tai, I need to become Metal Greymon!"

"No!" both Catherine and Floramon exclaimed. "That palace is a national treasure! If you use too much power, it could be destroyed!"

"Then we'll have to draw them out!" Floramon replied. Catherine nodded, clutching her digivice. "Floramon, digivolve to...Kiwimon!" With a cry, Kiwimon leaped forward, small missiles shooting out of its mouth and striking the three Mamemon digimon. Angered, they charged forward, waving explosives in the air. "They're clear!"

"Greymon, digivolve to...Metal Greymon!"

"Hey!" Metal Mamemon yelled, waving his arms. "No fair! How'd he become an ultimate digimon?"

"By wiping the floor with Etemon! Trident Arm!" Metal Greymon's claw suddenly shot forward, threatening to spear Metal Mamemon. He jumped up, the other two Mamemon following him. "Heh. Now you don't have a monument to hide behind. Giga Blaster!" The missile ports on Metal Greymon's chest swung open, and two missiles launched themselves, locked onto the Mamemon, still hanging in mid-air.

The missiles exploded just behind the three Mamemon, the force of the blast driving the three digimon into the ground. Kiwimon strode over to the three, glaring at them. "Do you know how much trouble you three have caused?"

"Give us a break..."

"Floramon, digivolve to...Ninjamon!"

Giromon snarled, pulling out another bomb. "I'm not impressed! Have a Deadly Bomb!"

"Ninja Interchange!" Ninjamon shouted, vanishing in a puff of smoke. A second later, a tree stump with red cloth tied around it was blasted to splinters. Giromon was pelted by several hundred throwing stars, driving him back.

Rei sighed. "She's been watching Ninja Scroll again." TK blinked. His mother had flatly refused to let him see that one. Maybe he could ask Davis...

"Two on one? Not a problem!" Giromon taunted as he dodged a swing from Magna Angemon's beamsword. With a cackle, he swung his chain-sword at the angel, forcing Magna Angemon back. "I can keep this up all day! You'll never beat me!"

Ninjamon smirked. "We don't have to beat you." he replied.

"We just have to drive you over there! NOW, TK!"

"Digiport open!" TK yelled, opening up a portal on the laptop Rei was holding. Distracted, Giromon was unprepared for Ninjamon's grabbing his arm, and throwing him through the portal. With a triumphant cry, TK closed the laptop, sealing the portal.

"You hardly needed me at all." MagnaAngemon sighed.

Ninjamon shrugged. "Hey, we needed a ride." Shrugging, Ninjamon reverted to Floramon. "We should check on the others. Although I'm sure that the 'great warrior Agumon' doesn't need us." In the distance, they heard Metal Greymon's Giga Blasters explode. "Or not. So, anyone bring a broom?"

--England (written by NinetalesUK.)

London, England

Ryo and Joe waved as Imperialdramon took off again. "I'm glad that's overwith." Joe sighed. "I don't think they would have appreciated it if we'd blown up Big Ben."

"Hey, you heard him, it looked like a Control Spire from that angle." Ryo replied. "Can't really blame him. So, who's up here?"

Joe checked his D-Terminal. "Well, according to Izzy's notes, there's a small group of Digidestined here, and the local Gennai clone said to meet us outside Windsor Castle. So...which way is it?"

"YOu don't know?" Ryo gasped. "I thought you had the map!"

"No, I told you to hold the map."

Charmeleon and Gomamon groaned. This was going to be a long day...

Joe, Gomamon, Ryo and Charmeleon walked through the London streets as they soon learned that no one was around.

"I guess the moment they saw the Digimon, all of them must have run indoors." Ryo suggested.

Joe nodded. "Guess so. Which could be a good thing as everyone will freak out after seeing our partners."

"Now, why would anyone freak on a cute creature like me?" Gomamon asked.

"Please do not make me answer that!" Charmeleon muttered.

The small group continued walking until two small creatures hopped out of nowhere.

"A Gazimon and a Gabumon?" Joe asked, confused.

"Strange sort of Gabumon..." Ryo muttered, noting down that the new Gabumon's fur was pink instead of blue.

Gomamon stood into a defensive stance. "That is a Psychemon, Joe! Quick, let's catch him!"

"Hold on!" Called out a voice and out came two humans. One boy with reddish hair and one girl with yellow hair.

"Hey! They must be the English Digidestined!" Charmeleon said.

The girl with yellow hair nodded. "That is correct, mate. My name is Sarah and my Digimon partner is Psychemon."

"How do you do?" Psychemon said, bowing.

"And I am Johnathan. But, you can call me John for short." The boy with reddish hair said. "And my partner is Gazimon."

"Nice to meet'cha!" Gazimon said.

"Well, hello there. I am Joe, a Digidestined from Japan. My partner is Gomamon." Joe said.

"Hey!" Gomamon said, waving.

"And I am Ryo. My partner is Charmeleon here." Ryo said.

Charmeleon also waved. "Hi!"

John blinked at Charmeleon. "Blimey, a Pokemon!"

"Huh?! How do you know that I'm a Pokemon?!" Charmeleon asked.

"One of the Digidestined has a Pokemon as a partner and told us some of the names as example, including yours." John said.

Charmeleon's mouth was wide open. "There is another Pokemon?! Where?!"

"In Windsor Castle." Sarah said, walking away. "Come on, we will take you there!"

"That sounds good..." Joe sighed.

At Windsor Castle, Joe and Ryo met up with the other members of the English Digidestined. First of all was the leader of the English Digidestined, a boy with brown hair known as Phillipe, or Phil for short, and his Digimon partner is ModokiBetamon. A yellow version of the original Betamon.

"So, do you know where the Control Spire is?" Ryo asked.

Phil nodded. "That's right. Me and my mates call it the Dark Tower. Its located near the London Bridge."

"There is an old song I heard. It goes something like this..." ModokiBetamon said, before he started to sing in a low voice. "London Bridge is falling down, falling down."

"If we don't stop those Digimon, you will be singing this. London Bridge has been blown up!" Charmeleon said.

Next was Phil's girlfriend, Cassandra. She has golden hair and it turns out she was the one whom was partnered with a Pokemon. It was a small brown, 6-tailed fox known as Vulpix.

"So, how did you met up with your partner?" Joe asked.

"Can't remember but, I can tell you this. The moment I found her, a bloomin' light appeared and I got my Digivice. Then, she started to speak. I tell you, I was really surprised." Cassandra said.

Vulpix giggled. "Yeah, I know that. You fainted from shock."

"Its amazing no one is teasing ya for having 5 more tails than normal foxes." Gomamon noted down.

"I know and if YOU tease me, I will send you to Scotland!" Vulpix said, balling her paw into a fist and held it underneath Gomamon's chin. "Ya got that?"

"Gee... A female Vulpix with a strong head... Trouble." Gomamon muttered dryly.

Finally, Phil's sister called Shaina. She has brown hair and a cheery smile.

Gomamon looked at Shaina's partner. "A Muchomon!"

"Whats that?" Joe asked.

"An orange version of Penguinmon." Charmeleon explained.

"Boy, won't Ed's Penguinmon be amazed to see this?" Ryo chuckled.

Muchomon looked at Ryo and spoke in a female voice. "A Penguinmon, did you say? I use to know a Penguinmon? We went out with each other. A date... He soon vanished for no reason."

"Wow... I'm sorry." Gomamon said. "Did this Penguinmon know how to Digivolve?"

"Yeah... into a Seadramon. Why?" Muchomon asked.

"That's him all right." Gomamon sighed.

"Can you take me to him?" Muchomon asked before turning to Shaina. "Please, Shaina? Please let me see my old boyfriend?"

"Good grief, Muchomon. 5 seconds and already, you are in love." Shaina laughed.

"So... where is the Gennai clone?" Ryo asked.

"Right here, chap." Said a posh English voice and a man that looks like Gennai appeared. "I say, welcome. My name is Churchill, a friend of Gennai."

"Churchill?" Joe asked.

Vulpix nodded. "That's right. Named after the famous Prime Minister during the second World War. Winston Churchill."

Churchill laughed. "I'm so glad that my dear friend, Gennai, has sended some help to get us out of our blooming mess."

"Its no problem." Ryo said.

After the English and Japanese Digidestined introduced themselves to Churchill, the British Gennai clone looked around at the Digidestined's partner. Gomamon, Charmeleon, Vulpix, ModokiBetamon, Muchomon, Gazimon and Psychemon.

"Does any of your Digimon and Pokemon Digivolve?" Churchill asked.

"Yes..." John said.

"How far?" Churchill added.

"Up to Champion..." Sarah said.

Gomamon shook his head. "I can go up to Ultimate."

"Not Mega? You did before?" Joe asked, suddenly curious.

"Yeah." Gomamon replied. "But it took a lot out of me. And I think I'd need a full Destiny Stone to do it again. I don't think that digicore'll be enough."

"That is good news... If none of your partners can reach the Ultimate level, we are in serious trouble." Churchill said.

Shaina looked at Churchill, confused. "Why is that?"

"It seems that the Control Spire located near the London Bridge is guarded by some Gesomon, Octomon and a Ultimate Digimon." Churchill explained. "We need an Ultimate to beat him and send him back."

"All right... We better head over to London Bridge and get this over with..." John said.

Ryo nodded and took out 2 Poke-balls. "All right. Better come out, Nidoking. Vaporeon."

The English Digidestined were amazed to see a massive purple dinosaur-like Pokemon known as Nidoking and a small, blue canine-like creature with a fin as a tail known as Vaporeon.

Joe turned to Churchill with a serious look. "Take us to the London Bridge."

"Of course, follow me." Churchill said, walking away.

The group soon arrived at the edge of London Bridge. They soon saw the massive black tower in the middle of the sea. White squids called Gesomon and octopuses called Octomon were swimming around it. Also, a few Gesomon and Octomon were on shore.

"OK... We will need a plan." Joe said.

Ryo nodded. "Digimon and Pokemon that know how to fly and swim will deal with the Control Spire. Ground Digimon and Pokemon will take care of the Digimon that are on the shore."

"Well, there is nothing else for it." Gomamon said.

"All right. Nidoking! GO FOR IT!" Ryo shouted as Nidoking roared and charged towards the Gesomon and Octomon. "Thunderbolt!"

Electricity sparkled and were released from Nidoking's horn, shocking the Gesomon and Octomon, thus grabbing their attention.

"Oi! Your gonna pay for that!" An Octomon called out.

"Yeah! No one shocks us and gets away with it!" A Gesomon added.

"Our turn!" Muchomon said, with a grin.

Vulpix nodded, with a sly grin. "And its about time!"

Muchomon Digivolve to.... Veedramon!

Vulpix Digivolve to.... Ninetales!

Psychemon Digivolve to.... Gururumon!

Gazimon Digivolve to.... DarkTyrannomon!

Veedramon, a bulk blue and white dragon. Ninetales, a beautiful white fox with nine tails. Gururumon, a different colour version of Garurumon. And DarkTyrannomon, a huge black tyrannosuarus. They rushed forward to help Nidoking against the attacking Gesomon and Octomon.

"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon called out.

"Chaos Blaster!" Gururumon shouted.

"Fire Blast!" Ninetales howled.

"Flame Blast!" DarkTyrannomon shouted.

Along with another Thunderbolt from Nidoking, the Octomon and Gesomon were knocked-out. Joe noticed that the other Octomon and Gesomon were coming out of the water to help their kind out. "The other Digimon will do fine. Gomamon, your up for it?"

"Ahuh!" Gomamon said, nodding.

"ModokiBetamon?" Phil asked, grinning.

"Oh yeah!" ModokiBetamon said.

Ryo turned to Charmeleon. "Ready to fight?"

"What else is new?" Charmeleon said, chuckling.

Gomamon Digivolve to.... Ikkakumon!

Charmeleon Digivolve to.... Charizard!

ModokiBetamon Digivolve to.... Shellmon!

Churchill called out to Charizard, Vaporeon, Ikkakumon and Shellmon as they swam through the sea towards the Control Spire. "Be careful! Remember, there is an Ultimate Digimon out there!"

"No worries!" Ikkakumon said. "I mean, what can he do to stop us?"

And before they know it, a massive green beetle with a snake on his back erupted from the sea in front of the 4 attacking monsters. He crackled with electricity while everyone was amazed by his apperance.

"Ikkakumon... You have a big mouth..." Charizard said, gulping.

"No kidding..." Shellmon added.

Ryo turned to Churchill. "What the heck is that thing?!"

"I think he is called Drenholmon. He is split into two parts. His beetle body and snake body. That snake is like a magnetic rod that attracts electricity, thus bringing out its Electrical Blast!" Churchill said. "Plus, his body is made out of strong armour that will take more than a simple Fire Blast to burn it."

"I resent that remark!" Ninetales said, burning another Octomon with her Fire Blast.

"Electrical Blast?!" Ryo gasped. "But, that means... We are in trouble..."

"Ikkakumon! Digivolve, quick!" Joe called out.

"You don't have to tell me that!" Ikkakumon said.

Charizard looked at Shellmon and Vaporeon. "While he fights, the Control Spire is ours!"

"Right!" Shellmon said, as he and Vaporeon nodded.

Ikkakumon Digivolve to... Zudomon!

The snake on Drenholmon's back lifted off and summonded electricity from the clouds, releasing its power upon Zudomon. "Electrical Blast!!!"

Sadly, for Drenholmon, Zudomon absorbed the attack by his hammer and slammed it against Drenholmon's exposed armour. Churchill noted out that if the snake on Drenholmon's back is off, his weakness can be shown. It wasn't long before Zudomon used Vulcan's Hammer to knock the massive beetle out cold.

Shellmon, Vaporeon and Charizard dealt with the Control Spire and it was over.

"Well, that wasn't so hard..." Zudomon said, chuckling.

"Oh boy, he will never get over this..." Joe said, sighing as he drew out his laptop.

"Well, while he is dragging Drenholmon to here... We can send the Digimon back and wait for Imperialdramon to arrive." Ryo said, looking at his D-3.

Shaina and Veedramon walked up to Joe and Ryo. "If there is any time, I want to go to the Digital World to see Penguinmon. I haven't seen him for a long, long time." Veedramon asked.

"Sure... we will set a date for ya." Joe said, laughing.

Shaina giggled. "Maybe I can meet Penguinmon's partner."

"Maybe... Hey, Ryo... What would happen if Edward and Shaina met?" Joe asked.

Ryo just laughed. "That means Ed is gonna get teased by Typhlosion and Penguinmon, all the time." Sobering, he glanced at Joe. "Look, tell the others when they get here that I'm going back to my world. It's..."

"Hey," Joe replied, "it's your home. They'll understand."

"Not Caryl." Charmeleon grumbled.

--Mexico

"This way!" Matt called to Ken. Ahead of them, Gabumon was keeping an eye on an old pyramid, where some digimon had taken refuge. "Any idea who's inside?"

With them was Jose, one of Azulongmon's avatars (And managed to completely miss the joke about whether he was related to either Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy. -ed). "A few of the digimon that came to Mexico are in there. A Dokugumon, a pair of Gargoylemon, and a Minotarumon. The rest moved off, but I have some of the other digidestined from here looking into it. These ones are slightly more destructive."

Ken nodded. "I remember. When I was..." he stopped, grimacing. "I met a few Gargoylemon back...then. They were very wild and hard to control. And they love hanging around in abandoned buildings."

"No problem." Gabumon replied. "With the digicore, I can turn into Were Garurumon and run them all out in no time!"

"Yes, but we're trying not to be seen." Ken replied, indicating the armed guards. "I don't think they're ready to accept a giant wolfman running all around the inside of their national treasures." The bushes shifted, and Wormmon came into view. "Well?"

"Sorry, Ken. All the exits are covered, and I think they have helicopters watching the place. They must know that the digimon are inside, and are hoping to keep them in there."

"Well, better in there than outside wrecking the town." Matt said thoughtfully. "Maybe if we had a distraction..."

"I think we have one..." Jose said, glancing at one group of guards, arguing with a little girl.

"What do you mean, I can't go in! I have to, there's a...friend of mine inside!" the girl shouted, building up to a full hissy-fit.

Jose massaged his forehead. "Oi. Rosa. I TOLD her to go with the others."

"One of the Mexican digidestined?" Matt asked. Ken tried not to let a 'well, DUH' expression seem too visible on his face. "Well, if we needed a distraction, this'd be it. Jose?"

Jose sighed. "I ALWAYS get stuck with her. Evan's supposed to be watching her, but nooo..." he moaned, approaching the guards, and explaining how sorry he was that his daughter had gotten loose. The resulting argument this started with Rosa gave Ken, Matt, Gabumon, and Wormmon a chance to slip into the ruins, undetected. Rosa was, by way of being carried under Jose's arm, carried off kicking and screaming. But more about her later...

"SO, which way now?" Wormmon asked.

"No worries." Gabumon replied. "I've seen Indiana Jones at least seven times! All we have to do is find the secret passageway. Right Matt?"

"Not that simple." Matt sighed, reminding himself that he really had to lock up his movie collection sometime. "Ken?"

Ken looked at his digivice. "Looks like they're a few yards ahead and below us."

Matt nodded. "So, any plans after we save the world again?"

"I think Yolei invited herself over." Wormmon nodded, ignoring Ken's imitation of an engine seizing up. "Something about New Years Eve?"

Matt grinned. "Alright Ken." he said, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Wormmon," Gabumon sighed, "you know our humans don't like us discussing such things when they're around."

"Wait, what do you mean 'when we're around'?" Matt asked.

Rosa crawled under a fence, having ditched Jose about five minutes ago. No way she was leaving Gotsumon on his own.

"Are we there yet?" Gabumon asked.

"Not yet." Matt sighed. "Another hallway, maybe."

"You said that three hallways ago." Wormmon replied. Matt glared at him. "I'm just saying..."

"I think this place is starting to get on our nerves." Ken sighed. "If we don't find anything, let's just head back to the exit and start again."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Who said that?" Matt asked, looking around.

"Wasn't me." Ken answered.

"Maybe this place is haunted?" Gabumon asked. "The Ark of the Covenant was."

"It wasn't haunted, that was a divine manifestation." Wormmon replied.

"It was SPECIAL EFFECTS." Matt answered firmly. "Now what was that?"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"That was a bit louder." Ken observed. "And it came from down that hall."

"EEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEeee!"

"I think there's two of them." Wormmon said, tensing. "Ken, Nohemon's small enough to fight in here."

Ken nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"

"Wormmon, armour digivolve to...Nohemon, pure-hearted archer!" The armoured digimon knelt, aiming his bow down the hallway. The Murkrow flew from the archer's shoulder and landed near Ken.

Gabumon frowned "Matt, can I get one of those?"

"I don't know." Matt replied. "My girlfriend doesn't have one to share." Ken pointedly ignored him. "Just get ready to fight."

"eeeeeEEEEEEEWHAM!" (Okay, no one said 'wham'. -ed) Nohemon was bowled over by a small girl and a walking rock.

Matt recognised her. "Rosa? I thought Jose had taken you out of here!"

"I can take care of myself!" Rosa replied, more angry than hurt. Then she looked up and saw Ken. "But I'm willing to accept some help." she whispered. Matt and Gabumon started laughing.

"Umm." Ken started, but never finished. That was the point when the digimon Rosa and Gotsumon had been running from showed up, eager for a fight.

As predicted, it was a Minotarumon, leading a Dokugumon and two Gargoylemon, all looking mean and ready for a fight.

"Ken." Nohemon said, rather calmly. "Even digivolved, I am seriously outclassed here."

"What do we do, then?" Ken asked.

"Run?" Gabumon suggested. Matt and Ken thought it was a good idea; Nohemon fired a few arrows to cover their escape, scooped up Rosa under one arm, and everyone ran for it.

"So, you're...Rosa's partner?" Ken asked the Gotsumon following them.

Gotsumon nodded. "I heard that some digimon had gotten inside these ruins, so Rosa and I decided to go look into it. But I can't digivolve in here without wrecking the place."

"Sound." Matt answered, ducking as a piece of rock flew over his head.

"There's an exit just ahead." Rosa said, still under Nohemon's arm. "And I can RUN BY MYSELF, thanks!" She squirmed out of Nohemon's arm, sped up, managed to pull alongside Ken. "So, is this your first time here? In Mexico, I mean."

"Umm...yes?" Ken hazarded. Despite everything, Matt was trying not to laugh too hard.

"Well, I'd love to show you around." Rosa offered. She gasped as Nohemon picked her up again, handed her to Matt, and was then carried, kicking (but not screaming) down to the ground.

"HEY!" one of the guards yelled, seeing the group emerge from the ruins.

"Can't talk, fleeing!" Nohemon said as the pursuing digimon burst out the side of the pyramid. "Don't worry, Jose will repair that!"

Somewhere, Jose, avatar and assistant to Azulongmon, sneezed.

"Okay, we're clear!" Gabumon said. "Matt, let's do it!"

"Do what?" Rosa asked, standing closer to Ken than he would have liked. Nohemon was up in a tree, watching for the oncoming digimon attackers.

Matt nodded, held out his digivice, and marvelled as the digicore appeared, ghost-like over the screen. "Gabumon, digivolve to... WereGarurumon!" Matt blinked, resolving to ask when Gabumon had learned how to skip evolution levels later.

"Gotsumon, we can do that too!" Rosa said, taking her digivice out.

"Gotsumon, digivolve to...Monochromon!"

"A Monochromon?" Ken asked. "Wow, I haven't seen one of those in a while."

"You like him?" Rosa asked, entranced.

At that moment, Dokugumon, Minotarumon, and the two Gargoylemon crashed through the scrub, knocking trees over. "All right, we're gonna..." they trailed off as they saw WereGarurumon, cracking his knuckles.

"Going to what?" WereGarurumon asked, knuckles cracking.

"I've been waiting for some payback." Monochromon grumbled.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" one of the Gargoylemon asked. Slowly, Minotarumon nodded. With a roar, Minotarumon charged in, weapon extended. Dokugumon followed him in, poisoned webs already streaming out of her mouth.

Monochromon, for all his size, moved first, spewing fireballs, burning away the webs. Dokugumon, caught off guard, struck the metallic digimon head first (rather dumb. -ed) and was quickly knocked out. Minotarumon failed to notice this, as he was quickly pinned by several arrows, then knocked senseless by a swift kick from WereGarurumon.

Matt nodded, satisfied. The whole battle had only taken a few seconds. "Well, what about you two?" he asked the two Gargoylemon.

"Huh? Us fight the great WereGarurumon?" one of the Gargoylemon stammered, making everyone (except Rosa, who was busy making sparkly-eyes at Ken. Yes, it's a touch disturbing -ed) boggle.

"Yeah!" the other one chimed in. "If we knew that it was you we were fighting, we'd never have hooked up with Minotarumon! Hey...can we get an autograph?"

"An...autograph?" Were Garurumon asked, eyes wide. "Well...sure. But you have to promise to go back to the digital world, alright?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" both Gargoylemon replied, saluting.

Matt looked from his partner to the two Gargoylemon. "Um..."

"Well, thanks for your help." Jose said, shaking Ken and Matt's hands. "I'm really sorry that Rosa got in the way."

"Oh, no worries." Wormmon said. "Gotsumon was a nice guy."

"And Rosa was too...to Ken." Matt added. Ken gave a long-suffering sigh. "Wait'll I tell Yolei about this one."

"Don't you dare." Ken growled.

Jose chuckled softly. "Well, I've been in contact with the other avatars, and it looks like everything is going well. You should be on your way home in a few minutes. You'll be meeting up with Davis, Kyle, and June in New York."

"Do you have to go so soon?" Rosa asked, not quite whining. "I really wanted to show you around!"

"Rosa," Jose sighed, "they have families back in Japan. Just like you do here. I'm not looking forward to explaining this to your father."

"Hey! I'm a digidestined too! And if I want to go on an adventure, you can't stop me!"

"Is it just me, or is she channelling Davis?" Matt whispered to Gabumon, who only nodded in response. "Are those other digidestined from Mexico?" he asked, indicating an approaching horde of people, ranging from his age to Rosa's.

Jose nodded. "Yes. I told them that two of the first digidestined were here, and they all wanted to meet you two."

"But I'm not-" Ken started.

"Hey, you and Ryo faced off against Milleniumon, remember?" Matt pointed out. "Come on, let's meet our fans."

"I'm a fan." Rosa pouted. Ken sighed, smiled at her, and went over to the other digidestined. "Hey, wait up!"

--Later

After a few hours of playing plane tag, Kyle, June, Ken, and Davis were able to link up and summon Imperialdramon. Matt and Mimi said goodbye again, while June swatted Davis for making gagging motions

"I can't believe it." Kyle yawned. "We just saved an entire planet."

"Twice for some of us." Matt replied.

"Yeah, well, some of us have a bit less experience." Davis replied, glaring at Kyle for a second.

"Nothing HAPPENED." Kyle groaned.

"Well, if he wants something to happen..." June stage-whispered, making Davis faint, Kyle blush, and Matt, Ken, and Mimi fall over laughing.

"What's going to happen?" Veemon asked, confused. "What?"

Eevee sighed. "They never explained the Pidgeys and the Beedrills to you, did they?"

"I think he's a little young." Growlithe noted, shaking his head.

"You haven't been inside his skull." Elecmon sighed.

"We have." Growlithe and Wormmon answered.

"Huh?" Veemon looked around helplessly, confused. Palmon wandered over, dumping a load of snow on Davis, waking him up and prompting a brief snowball fight. After the shouting died down, Growlithe, Elecmon Veemon, and Wormmon combined back into Imperialdramon and took off, leaving Mimi and Palmon waving in the park.

Everyone was picked up within a few minutes after Imperialdramon took off from New York; Once the dragon reached the target area, there was a few minutes of flying around trying to spot where exactly the digidestined were. They went to Russia first, and found that Sora and Yolei had managed, with a little help from Mewtwo, to drive a giant swarm of insect digimon into the portal. France was next, with Sora having a quick reunion with Rei, and having a few dozen words with Tai, who swore repeatedly that he hadn't done anything to Catherine.

London was next, Joe explaining that Ryo had gone on ahead back to the Pokemon world to check on the progress there. Hong Kong came after that, with Tai repeating Sora's performance for Izzy. Then, Australia, with Caryl getting dropped off back at her home and pouting that Ryo had apparently 'ditched' her, but still managing to completely embarrass Cody by giving Yolei a copy of a picture of her and Cody on the beach. They met with Seth's group in Southern California, giving each of the digidestined a quick ride back. On the way, Stuart (who decided that he didn't want to risk another trip through the digiports) wondered why Imperialdramon was taking such a roundabout route.

"Well..." Davis admitted, "Veemon doesn't have the best sense of direction."

"And we promised he could drive on the way home." Leomon's voice rumbled from Imperialdramon. "Sad, really."

Finally, everyone was home. The main group of digidestined had landed in the park, and everyone was beginning to separate for their respective homes.

"I am beat." Kyle sighed, sitting down on a snow covered bench.

"Oooh." June cooed, sitting beside him. "You can sleep over at our place tonight."

"He can GET HOME on his own, June." Davis replied. June stuck her tongue out at Davis, putting her arms around Kyle for added effect.

TK sighed, watching the spectacle for a minute, then turning to leave. "See you tomorrow guys. Let's have the victory party then. We should have heard from Crystal and the others by then." Waving, everyone left, laughing as Davis tried to pry his sister off of Kyle's arm.

A few minutes later, TK was home. "Mom?"

"I'm in your bedroom, TK." his mother called. Curious, TK wandered over. "So, did you save the world again?" TK nodded. "I was just seeing off Kyle's father."

"Oh?" TK asked, a bit curious. He glanced at the screen, and saw something blinking. "A message?"

Nancy glanced at the screen. "Huh. I didn't notice it when I came in. Is it from one of the other digidestined?"

TK looked at the message. "It's...oh, it's Crystal's email. They must have succeeded." TK opened the message. Instead of text, a small videoscreen opened up, the picture grainy, sound filled with static.

"TK," Crystal said in the message, "there's...trouble...help, we..." the message ended, a vague error message appearing as the video player closed itself down.

"TK-" Nancy started to say, but TK didn't listen. Before she could react, TK had opened the digiport and went through it. Nancy stood stunned for a few seconds, then ran to the phone.

--

Next episode TK appears in the Orange Islands, only to find that the Orange Islands have been covered in ice. Which digimon is responsible for this? And if TK is beaten, who's left, with all of the digidestined too exhausted to fight again?

Episode 38: 'Worlds Tour part 3: Ice Tyrant Panjyamon!'

"What have we learned, Ryo"  
"Sigh...Never go on an adventure without Caryl"  
"Exactly. Now wait there while I consider your punishment..."


	40. Worlds Tour Part 3: Ice Tyrant Panjyamon...

--Orange Archipelago 

The island was inhabited, but that didn't really bother Panjyamon. Lord Demon had told him to show up here and claim the island for him, so that was it. "Soon, I shall claim, this world for my lord. Master Demon, I shall freeze this world in your name!" He cast a glance at a giant frozen statue. "If this was the best this world had to offer, then it shall be a quick victory."

Inside his icy tomb, Lugia glared at Panjyamon. Just keep thinking that, he thought to himself.

Digimon Digicross 39  
'Worlds Tour part 3: Ice Tyrant Panjyamon'

Seadramon reared up, getting a fix on the two Ice Devimons that were attacking him. "Ice Winder!" he yelled, spearing one with a bolt of ice. The second one, seeing its partner disintegrate, stepped back. "We're winning!"

"Don't jinx it!" Edward yelled back, cradling the baby Lugia in his arms. "No, you can't go out there, it's too dangerous!" he added as the small silver bird tried to wiggle out of his arms. He and Seadramon had been battling for hours without a break; all his pokemon were too worn out to risk in a battle like this; even Blastoise had finally fallen when the Airdramon had rammed him.

"Shining...NAIL!" A blue and white streak crashed into one of Ice Devimon's wings, shattering it and grounding the devil digimon. "Depthmon, now!" Strabimon called, jumping up and kicking the devil into the ocean. The water around Ice Devimon started to freeze, and then it broke up as a whirlpool formed, pulling Ice Devimon down underwater. A few seconds later a series of explosions ripped the surface of the water apart, and it rained Ice Devimon for a good minute after that.

Melody and Crystal ran over to Edward. "We got your message." Melody said, out of breath. "We came as fast as we could!"

"Thanks." Edward replied. As he spoke, Seadramon swam over and switched back to Penguinmon. "It's been like this everywhere I went. Digimon everywhere, all from that Dark Ocean place. All of my pokemon are out, and Penguinmon needs a rest too."

"I'm fine." Penguinmon huffed. "I've fought tougher battles against Magikarp."

Crystal looked at the baby Lugia in Edward's arms. "Where did that come from?"

Melody glanced at the infant Lugia. "Lugia trusted you with one of its eggs?" Edward nodded. "Hmm. Rare honour. Well, you'd better sit out the next few battles then. If that baby gets so much as a scratch, the mother Lugia'll freeze you solid and throw you into Mount Cinnabar volcano."

Depthmon stepped out of the water, glowed, and turned into V-mon. "Isn't that the same place you threatened to throw Davis into?"

Strabimon glanced at Crystal. "I didn't think Lugia could use Ice type attacks."

"Never mind." Melody groaned. "Honestly, you people are no fun whatsoever." She glanced over the latest battlefield. "Well, we've been at this for hours now. Think we're finished?"

"I doubt it." Strabimon said grimly. "And a lot of the digimon we've been fighting are Dark Ocean soldiers. I wonder if there trouble in the other world was a distraction to cover a real invasion here?"

Melody smirked. "Don't worry. Crystal sent a message when we first came across the Dark Ocean digimon. Her boyfriend should be here any time now."

TK and Patamon stepped out of the pokemon center. "Why is it so cold?" Patamon asked. "Shouldn't it be warm here at this time of the year?" TK nodded absently. "Relax! I'm sure Crystal's fine. That message she sent was pretty garbled. And Ryo did come here ahead of us."

"I guess." TK said. He shouted, slipping on a patch of ice. "Ice...here?"

Patamon looked around. "The pokemon center was deserted. And I don't see anyone else here."

"They might have evacuated when the digimon started appearing." TK answered. "Let's check around the town. Maybe we can find a clue there."

Crystal, Melody, and Edward headed to the nearest town. "I'm exhausted." Edward said. "I think Lugia here's been snacking when I wasn't looking." The small bird cawed in protest.

"Well, you've seen the full-sized ones." Melody replied. Although...the last time the Orange Islands were attacked by digimon, Lugia showed up to help. I wonder where he is now."

"Maybe he's fighting digimon somewhere else?" Crystal suggested. "If there are as many digimon here as on the other Earth..."

"Relax." V-mon reassured Crystal. "TK's a lot smarter than Davis. He'll be fine. Anyway, he's nowhere near here."

Melody opened her mouth to say something, thought about it, then gave up. Couldn't fault his logic.

TK and Patamon neared the edge of the town. There were more ice patches, and some snow had started to fall. "Maybe an Ice Devimon?" TK wondered.

"Hey, this building's been burned." Patamon said, looking at a wall. Moving closer, TK could see that there were black marks on the wall. "In an ice storm?"

"Some pokemon must have been fighting here." Patamon reasoned. "I can't think of any other way that...TK!" Patamon gasped, flying ahead.

"What is it? Patamon, wait up!" TK ran after his partner, trying not to slip on the ice. He caught up in a few seconds, confused. "What's all the..." TK trailed off as he saw a large pillar of ice. Worse, he saw who was inside it.

Ryo and Charizard, looking surprised.

"Are they..." Patamon stopped, not wanting to know the answer.

"They live, but only at my sufferance." TK and Patamon whirled around, and saw a massive blue digimon.

"Leomon?" TK gasped.

"Ah, you ARE digidestined." the digimon rumbled. It did bear a striking resemblance to Leomon, but this digimon was larger, blue, wearing a large cape, and had a massive axe with a snowflake-shaped blade. "I am Panjyamon, an Ultimate digimon! And Lord Demon has commanded me to conquer this land in his name!"

"Patamon, digi-"

"ICE BEAST FIST!"

--Johto region

"Run!" the redhead yelled, picking up a small white pokemon. The two boys with her took one look at the onrushing horde, and agreed with her plan.

"Where are we running to?" the younger of the two boys asked. On his shoulder, a Pikachu held on for dear life. "The swamp's back this way!"

"Ash, I don't think you and Pikachu can beat this thing!" the older, darker-skinned boy replied. "I don't think Team Rocket has anything to do with this one!"

"NO WE DIDN'T!" two white clad adults and a Meowth screamed as they tore past the trio.

"What is that thing?" Ash gasped, looking back over his shoulder. "Some weird kind of Dragonair?" The monster was long, serpentine, and hovered in the air, two wings slowly beating.

"I'm not sticking around to find out!" Misty replied (Oh come on. Like you hadn't guessed by now? -ed), clutching Togepi tighter.

"I think it might have something to do with that weird monster we saw back in Olivine!" Brock interjected. "Or those creatures that blew up the Indigo Plateau."

"Less talking, more running!" Misty snapped, then skidded to a halt. "Oh no...the swamps' gone!"

In front of the trio, where there had been a swamp was now only a dry and dusty pit. In the center, a humanoid creature made of flames. Sensing an easy prey, Meramon advanced.

-Then- it got weird.

--Orange Archipelago.

Crystal stopped suddenly. "TK." she gasped, feeling a shudder go through her whole body.

"What is it?" Melody asked.

"I think...I think something happened to him."

"Relax." Edward replied. "I'm sure he's fine. That sort of thing happens only in bad movies and romance novels." He stopped, glancing at Melody. "Ahh...not that I read any of that stuff."

Melody didn't look convinced. "Right." she nodded. "Look, we'll go to the next town, and check, alright?" Crystal nodded. "Hey, where's Kurt? I thought you'd have him out."

"He's resting. We had to fight off some Gazimon before we met you. That and the Ice Devimon pretty much wore him out. I hope that the pokemon center is open in the next town. All of my pokemon are exhausted."

Edward nodded. "Mine too. It's been a rough few days here." Lugia cawed again. "When you're older." Edward sighed. "Not even a month old and he already wants to go save the world."

"Must run in the family." Melody smiled. "How are you doing, V-mon?"

V-mon shrugged. "Fine. I'm not as good fighting on land, though."

"Not like you've been slacking off or anything." Melody sighed. "Honestly, all you do is sit around and work on your tan."

"Hey, I gotta look good, right?"

"Trouble." Edward suddenly said, pointing. "Unless it's normal for a city to be covered in ice like that?"

Crystal and Melody looked where Edward was pointing. They could see the sun glinting off several patches of ice. "Please tell me those are glass windows." Crystal whispered silently.

"Too hard to clean, with all the bird pokemon around here." Melody replied. "Come on." The three hurried down the hill.

--Johto region

The loud crash got Ash's attention. Looking back, he saw something big and red fall on the dragon-like creature, making it crash into the ground. Which was good enough, one less threat.

"Alright." he growled. "If you're a fire type..."

"Ash, I don't think this is a good idea." Brock warned. "I've never seen a pokemon like this before."

"We don't have a choice." Ash replied. "Something picked a fight with that weird dragon pokemon back there; if I can catch this one, we can make a break for it. Go, TOTODILE!" Ash reached back, grabbing his pokeball-

Just as Psyduck chose that moment to emerge. He gave a triumphant cry, and fired off a truly pathetic Water Gun before Misty managed to recall him. A part of Ash's mind noted that her usual insult wasn't there. The rest of him quickly focused on the battle. "Totodile, use Water Gun!"

"Toto...DILE!" the small pokemon yelled, unleashing a gout of water. It struck Meramon in the chest, forcing the digimon back a few paces.

Misty took out another pokeball "Staryu! Help out!" The star shaped pokemon appeared, and added its own water attack.

Angered by the attack, Meramon clenched his fists, and shouted, his body seeming to grow as more flames appeared. Totodile and Staryu were thrown back, dazed.

"Alright," Ash growled, "then we'll do it this way. Pikachu, Thunder attack!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, firing off a massive bolt of electricity. This attack, however, stopped a few millimeters short of Meramon's body.

"It's like with Blaine's Magmar!" Brock gasped. "The heat around that thing's body is so high, it's created a heat shield for itself! We have to run!"

Misty glanced around. The trees were catching fire now, cutting off their escape. And there were still sounds of a gigantic struggle from behind them. "Where?" she demanded. Psyduck appeared again, challenging Meramon a second time. "Get back in your ball, you dimwit duck!" she shouted.

"Wait!" Ash said. "How about a psychic attack? A heat shield can't stop that."

"One headache, coming UP!" Misty yelled, smacking Psyduck on the head. The pokemon's arms cradled its head, and it groaned in pain. "Sorry." she whispered, hoping Ash and Brock couldn't hear her.

--Orange Archipelago

The three humans wandered around the city, awestruck. Large parts of it were covered in sheets of ice. "There's no one here."

Melody glanced at Edward. "Can't blame them. They must have been warned, and evacuated. I hope so, anyway."

They heard Crystal's voice ahead, a cry of horror. The two ran to where she was standing.

"TK." Edward gasped. "And Patamon." Both were frozen solid, a thick cone of ice over each one. Glancing to his left, he spied two more figures. "Ryo and Charizard. Who did this?"

Crystal put a hand on TK's ice prison. "Hey," Melody said to her, "we'll get them out. How about your Ponyta? Maybe it can melt the ice?"

Crystal nodded. "Go, Ponyta! Melt this ice with Fire Ring!" Ponyta appeared, and quickly wrapped TK's frozen body with a small ring of fire.

"Nothing!" Melody gasped. Despite Ponyta's attack, the ice remained undamaged by the heat.

"That's enough." Crystal said quietly. "Ponyta, return." Ponyta dipped his head sadly, and vanished back into the waiting pokeball. "I don't want to risk a stronger attack."

"Maybe I could head butt it?" V-mon offered.

Melody shook her head. "No. We want to free them, not shatter them."

Edward frowned. "Then we'll have to find the one who did this and ask him to undo it. That's how this sort of thing usually works, isn't it?"

"Usually, yeah." Melody looked around. "So, where do we start?"

"Follow the ice." Edward replied. "I think I can see a large spire up ahead." The four set out.

--Johto Region

"Psyduck, CONFUSION!" Misty commanded. Psyduck's arms fell limp, and the pokemon's eyes glowed bright blue. Meramon stopped, baffled, then his eyes went wide as he started to levitate!

"Hey, what's going on?" Meramon demanded.

"He can...talk?" Ash gasped. "So he is one of those creatures from Olivine."

"Digimon, that's what they were calling them!" Brock said.

"Rrrr......RRRARRR!" Meramon yelled, flames flaring up again. There was an audible 'pop' as the blue aura around Meramon collapsed, throwing Psyduck back.

"Psyduck!" Misty gasped. She screamed as Meramon reached a single, blazing hand for her. Ash ran forward, grabbed Misty by the waist, and pulled her back. "He's too strong!" Ash growled, something Misty thought she'd never hear him say (And before you ask, Togepi was safe in Misty's backpack -ed).

Psyduck charged forward, small claws raised for a Scratch attack. He got to within a foot before Meramon's heat drove him back. "Psyduck, GET OUT OF THERE!" Misty yelled. Instead of listening, Psyduck made a show of standing between Meramon and the humans. "Psyduck!" Misty screamed again.

"Burning Fist!" Meramon cried, thrusting a massive fist down at the small yellow duck pokemon.

Misty struggled to get out of Ash's grip. She noticed that Brock had retrieved Psyduck's pokeball, which she didn't remember dropping. However, Psyduck was moving around too erratically for the recall beam to hit it.

Finally, Psyduck tripped, and a fiery explosion sent him flying. Screaming, Misty reached for her pokemon. As she did, a small sphere of light appeared in her hand. At that moment, Psyduck glowed white.

"Psyduck!" Ash gasped. "Is he evolving?"

"Psy?" Psyduck cried, confused by the unusual sensations flooding him. "Psy...Psy... Psypsypsypsy..." as he landed, his shape changed. "Golduck!" the pokemon cried, as his evolution completed.

"Golduck!" Misty gasped. "He managed to evolve." She stopped, looking at the small silvery rectangle in her hand. "Did this thing have something to do with it?" she wondered, looking at the digivice.

--Orange Archipelago.

Melody cursed to herself as she slipped on another ice patch. The area had become a continuous...glacier now, rather than being a collection of small ice patches. Crystal, slightly ahead of her, offered her a hand up. "Thanks." Melody dusted her knees, the jeans she was wearing now muddy from the ice.

"No problem." Crystal replied. Beside her, Kurt, her Eevee, was out, his own small claws up to the task of ice climbing. "Are you okay, Kurt?"

"So far." Kurt replied. "Glad I'm furry though."

Penguinmon waddled over. "Speak for yourself! This place is great!"

"Speak for yourself." V-mon groaned. "I'm freezing my tail off here."

"Deal with it." Melody answered. "We have to free Ryo and TK."

"Uh-oh." Edward said, pointing. The Lugia he was carrying cawed in protest.

"Lugia!" Melody gasped. The digidestined stared, awestruck, at the image of the giant pokemon, frozen inside a shell of ice.

"He looks mad." V-mon whispered.

"I'd be." Kurt replied.

"He was nothing." Panjyamon snarled, stepping out from behind Lugia's prison. "DIE, DIGIDESTINED!" He ran forward, axe swinging in a wide arc.

"Dodge!" Edward yelled. "Penguinmon, digivolve!"

"Penguinmon, digivolve to...Seadramon!"

"Crystal! Digivolve me to Espeon. I can use recover techniques then!" Crystal nodded, holding her digivice out. "Eevee, digivolve to...ESPEON!"

"Like you gotta ask!" Melody said, nodding to V-mon.

"V-mon, digivolve to...Depthmon!"

"Pathetic!" Panjyamon roared. "I am an Ultimate Digimon! I can defeat you all with but a fraction of my power! FROZEN FIST!"

Seadramon shot forward, the ice attack breaking on his hard head. "Cute! But where I'm from, that'd just be a nippy autumn breeze! ICE WINDER!" Panjyamon caught the attack on his axe, whirled, and drove his fist into the bottom of Seadramon's jaw. "Okay, that hurt..." Seadramon was knocked over by the force of the blow.

Panjyamon tried to advance, then stopped as Kurt's psi attack tried to bite into his mind. The ice digimon fell to one knee, hands clutched to his head, axe clattering to the ground. "Depthmon! DO IT NOW, I CAN'T HOLD HIM MUCH LONGER!" With a roar, Depthmon charged, clawed hands extended. He managed to make two powerful swipes, managing to dig into Panjyamon's torso.

"You WORMS!" Panjyamon howled, backhanding Depthmon and managing to break free of Kurt's psychic attack. He scooped his axe up with one hand, swung it, and slammed the blade into the ground. "Frozen Shockwave!" he cried, the attack throwing Seadramon, Depthmon, and Kurt away. Even the humans were sent sprawling on the ice. "Now it ends." Panjyamon, axe in both hands now, advanced.

"Dragon Wheel!" A huge bolt of blue fire slammed into the Ultimate digimon, pushing him back.

Caryl Kyashi glared at Panjyamon. "You froze my boyfriend. Kyuubimon, get him!"

--Johto region

"Hydro Pump!" Misty called, recognizing Golduck's sudden intake of breath. The pokemon exhaled, sending a huge gout of water smashing into Meramon. Unlike the two Water Gun attacks, this attack did manage to punch through the protective coat of flames, and do some real damage. Not a lot, but Meramon's howl of pain confirmed that he felt it.

"I don't know how he did it, but Golduck's attacks are having a lot more effect!" Ash said. "Can he keep it up?" Overhearing this, Golduck gave the trainer a thumbs up, then returned to his opponent.

Despite the pain Golduck's Hydro Pump was causing, Meramon stepped forward, face twisted in rage and agony. "You won't send me back! I'm going to rule this place!"

"Pikachu, he's weakened now!" Ash suddenly said. "THUNDER!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, and called down a massive bolt of electricity. Weakened, Meramon was unable to deflect the bolt, and was struck down. "Alright!"

Misty sighed. "I'm glad that's over. And I'm really glad that you finally...whaaa?" the humans blinked as Golduck glowed again, and switched back to Psyduck. Blank expression on his face, Psyduck looked up at Misty, confused. "Psy?"

"I knew it was too good to be true." Misty groaned. "What is this?" she wondered, looking at the digivice in her hand.

"I think I saw some of those trainers in Olivine with ones like it." Brock reasoned. "Maybe we should go find them."

Ash slumped. "But I was ready for my next gym battle..."

"You...miserable vermin! I WON'T BE BEATEN!" Meramon roared, getting up. "I'll burn each of you...huh?" Meramon stopped, looked up...

Just in time to get flattened by a giant red dinosaur. "Good work, Tyrannomon!" someone called. A boy, about Brock's age, ran over. "You three alright? I was tied up with Airdramon, so I couldn't get to Meramon here until just now."

"I'm fine..." Meramon moaned. "I'll destroy you all later..."

The boy sighed. "Idiot. Anyway, I'm Josh, from out of town."

Ash smiled. "I'm Ash from Pallet Town, this is Brock, and that's Misty." He glanced at Tyrannomon. "Is that a Dragonite? I didn't think they came in red."

Josh shook his head. "That's Tyrannomon, at least for the next few seconds." As he spoke, Tyrannomon glowed, and shrank into a small light brown dinosaur. "Now he's an Agumon. Confused yet?" he added with a small smile.

"Yeah, but thanks for saving us." Brock replied.

"Well, I was really here for the house hunting. Know any good places to live?"

--Orange Archipelago

"That's it, Kyuubimon, walk all over him!" Caryl yelled. Kyuubimon gave no indication of having heard her; the digimon's attention was focused on avoiding Panjyamon's oversized axe.

"Caryl?" Crystal asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?"

"I told that idiot not to leave me behind again!" Caryl almost snapped. Crystal stepped back, she noticed that Caryl's eyes were a bit red, and her hands were shaking a bit. "But he had to go off and be a stupid hero!"

Melody shook her head. "Get used to it. I think it's a guy thing. Really, they should just leave the world saving to us, right?" Crystal nodded.

"Umm...pay no attention to me." Edward sighed. "Not like I ever went charging off like an idiot."

"Ehh...sorry!" Melody said. "I didn't mean you."

"Kyuubimon!" Caryl yelled. Missing a step, the fox digimon was caught by the flat side of Panjyamon's axe, and thrown away, dazed.

"Get him!" Kurt yelled, psychic aura flaring. Beside him, Depthmon got up, hands out, ready to generate another vortex. "NOW!" Kurt commanded. A cone of water wrapped around a beam of psychic energy; the combined attack struck Panjyamon.

The ice lion digimon was furious with the digidestined now. "FOOLS! I'll destroy you all!" He charged forward, wild swings sending Kurt and Depthmon flying away.

"Not if we destroy you first!" Seadramon replied, darting forward, wrapping himself around Panjyamon.

Kurt and Depthmon got up. "You're too badly hurt!" Crystal gasped, taking her pokeball out. "I'll send-"

"No." Kurt replied. "We're the only chance this place has."

"We can't leave or he'll destroy everything here, including Lugia, Ryo, and TK." Depthmon added. "I don't know about you, but I think I can go a few more rounds."

"As can I." Kyuubimon said, staggering over. Caryl stepped forward, clearly worried. "I am fine, Caryl. I'll just need to rest after this is over." Kyuubimon's mouth twisted into a small grin. "And seeing the punishment you have planned for Ryo should keep me entertained...for a while."

Crystal couldn't help but smile at the thought. "So let's finish this creep and free TK."

"And everyone else." Melody added. Blushing a bit, Crystal nodded.

"Alright...Morning SUN!" Kurt called, drawing upon the available daylight to heal his wounds. Standing beside him, Depthmon felt some of the move's effects as well, his energy returning as well.

Panjyamon stepped back. "No! You're mad!"

:They are NOT!: Lugia's psychic shout stormed in Panjyamon's mind. Out loud: "I have faced much colder foes than you, digimon, and I have won. You and your master do not know of the forces that guard this world." There was a loud cracking sound; the ice prison holding Lugia shattered, allowing the legendary pokemon to fly up, wings spread. "Now feel this world's fury!" Lugia's mouth opened, a deep, low cry coming out.

"Depthmon...Espeon...DNA digivolve to...Shiryumon!" The digimon was long, silvery-blue and metallic. It vaguely resembled an Airdramon, though it had a pair of arms and hands just in front of its wings. Shiryumon roared, challenging Panjyamon. Lugia flew over, hovering above and just behind Shiryumon.

"I'm not impressed." Panjyamon snarled. "One or one hundred, I'll take you all on! Ice Axe!"

Shiryumon dove forward, ducking under Panjyamon's swing. "Dragon Blade!" he shouted, tail glowing with blue energy. Twisting in midair, the dragon digimon brought his tail up, around, and down on top of Panjyamon. The ice digimon parried the tail with the shaft of his axe. However, it shattered, and the tail continued down, cutting a long scar down Panjyamon's chest.

Panjyamon staggered to his feet. "Now, feel my fury." Lugia intoned. Around the battlefield, small gusts of wind seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Get clear!" Edward cried, grabbing the baby Lugia and running.

Crystal and Melody glanced at each other. "Lugia's legendary power...." Melody gasped. "Come on!"

"What?" Caryl asked. "What isAUGHHH!" As she was speaking, Kyuubimon switched back to Renamon, grabbed Caryl, and started running after the others. "Renamon!"

"I can sense the power that Lugia is building up. It would be best to not be in the area." Renamon replied. "You know what is happening?" She asked Melody as they all dove for cover behind a large rock.

Melody and Edward both nodded. "Lugia is the Guardian Beast of the Sea." Melody answered. "But he's also known as the King of Storms. If he is ever angered, he can unleash his most powerful attack."

Edward nodded again. "Aeroblast." he breathed. "Keep down, Betamon." he added, pushing the rookie digimon down.

Back at the fight, Panjyamon stared defiantly at Lugia. "You will never win! Even if I fall, the rest of the Dark Ocean shall avenge me! Your power means nothing to us!"

Lugia stared back. A second later, his wings glowed bright blue, and the gusts of wind began to gather. "AEROBLAST!" Lugia cried, both physically and mentally. With one motion, he brought his wings down, and hurled a massive bolt of energy at Panjyamon. It bisected the digimon, the ice spire he stood in front of, and the mountain that was behind the spire.

Edward gasped, awed by the raw power Lugia had just unleashed. He glanced down at the baby Lugia in his arms, who had watched the whole thing in rapt silence. "When you're older." He finally whispered. "-Much- older." The baby Lugia made a slight disappointed sound.

With a nod to the digidestined, the giant Lugia turned and headed back to the sea. :The rest, I leave to you. Take care.:

The ice holding TK and Patamon prisoner shattered. TK fell to his knees, his whole body numb from the cold. His D3 clattered to the ground, hands unable to grasp anything.

A pair of warm hands gently gripped TK's shoulders. "TK." Crystal whispered, helping him up.

"Crystal?" TK asked, still a bit dazed. "The last thing I remember, we were attacked by-"

"Shh..." Crystal replied. "It's all right. We took care of Panjyamon."

"You bet we did!" V-mon spoke up.

"V-mon and Kurt were able to DNA digivolve." Melody explained. "They became...oh..." Melody trailed off, realizing that neither TK nor Crystal was listening. "If only I had a camera." she sighed.

"You wish." Kurt muttered. "You should see how she gets when someone just mentions his name." Still no response.

"You idiot!" Caryl yelled at Ryo, also freed from the ice. That got through to TK and Crystal, who hastily broke apart, both red faced. "Why'd you go and run off on me? You know you could have been hurt."

"Well-"

"Don't give me that!" Caryl continued. "You were frozen inside a block of ice! I...I thought I'd never see you again..." she trailed off.

Ryo smiled. "I promise. No more running off. Your tears are punishment enough for me." Blushing, Caryl turned away, flustered.

"I suddenly feel ill." Renamon muttered.

"Matt suggested that line." Charmeleon whispered. "Not like it ever works on Mimi, though."

Edward rubbed his head. "So, is that it? Are all the digimon back where they should be now?"

"Last I checked, Earth was clear." TK replied. "And I don't think the invasion was as widespread here. I'll check with Professor Oak before I head home."

Melody walked over. "Why don't Edward and I check with Professor Oak? I think the two of you need some time together." Both TK and Crystal stammered.

"You think that line's going to work on me? Come back here!" Caryl yelled, chasing after Ryo.

--Dark Ocean

Demon frowned as the reports came in. "Well, that was a spectacular failure." He glanced at Metal Devidramon, partially buried in a Control Spire, writhing in torment. Some distance away, Sneasel watched her comrade suffer.

"Time to rethink my plans."

Next Episode So far, the digidestined have been able to tell the sides. But Kari, Kyle, and Izzy are about to learn that not all evil comes from the Dark Ocean. Next, on Digicross Episode 40:  
'Third Option'


	41. Third Option PG13

**Two Weeks Ago**

"A what?"

The Agumon looked up at his human partner. "Another world, Josh! I heard the other digimon talking about it. And the best part is that only digidestined can get there! That means-"

"It's not an option. Not unless we can all get away from him." Josh frowned. "Can you look into it?"

Agumon nodded. "Sure. I'll just-"

"No. Don't tell anyone, alright? This is my problem."

"It's -ours-" Agumon answered. "But I'll keep your secret. For now."

Digicross Episode 40

"Third Option"

Opening: Figure.09 by Linkin Park.

Note: Definitely a PG level fic here, kids. Maybe even PG-13. Mature situations, bad language, heavy social commentary, that sort of thing.

But not the good naughty stuff, sorry :-)

**Johto region**

Ash looked at the newcomer. "You want to move here? Well...sure, why not?"

"Yeah. Plenty of space." Brock added. "How many of those strange Pokemon are out there?"

"I'm not a Pokemon!" Agumon protested. "That," he pointed at Ash's Pikachu, "is a Pokemon. I am a digimon. Po-ke-mon," another point at Pikachu, "and di-gi-mon." finishing with a point at himself. "Do I LOOK like I walk around going 'Agu, agu' all day?"

"Enough." Josh said. "Sorry. He's...sensitive. So, your folks around?"

Ash blinked. "Well...mom's back in Pallette Town."

"Pewter City." Brock added.

"Cerulean, when they're not traipsing off all over the world." Misty sighed. "And leaving my sisters in charge of the gym."

Josh had no idea where those cities were. But they sounded very far off.

Then it hit him.

10 year old kids. On their own. In the wilderness. Without fear.

"Yeah, this place sounds great."

"There's some other of those digimon back in Kanto. What was the place?" Ash tried to remember.

"Stone Town." Brock said. "Yeah, one of those trainers was from there."

"Well. Then I think I need directions."

The rest of the day was spent with the three Pokemon trainers leading a very unsettled Josh and Agumon to the nearest town with a Pokemon center. Josh thanked them, got a world map from the nurse there (And arching an eyebrow as Brock made an utter fool of himself. Again.), and digiported home.

**Human World**

The laptop glowed, and Josh and Agumon exited. "Mom? I'm home."

Josh's mom ran into the hotel room. "Oh, Josh, good. We have to go."

"Why?"

Another boy, a bit younger than Josh entered the room. "That rat found us again. Kristen's upstairs packing. Hey, any luck on a place for us in the computer world?"

"Maybe. I have a lead. We'll get settled first, then I'll go check it out. Agumon? Guard."

"Woof." Agumon said. "Relax. If M...that guy shows up, I'll step on him."

The boy nodded. "Makes me almost wish he does show up."

"Jacob." their mother admonished. The boy bristled.

"No worries, Jake." Agumon promised. "He doesn't know about me yet, so if he does show up, I can surprise him." The digimon sighed. "I just wish I knew how he was following us."

**2 hours later**

No one had seen him come up. He jabbed a small piece of metal into the door lock, wiggled it for a few seconds, and forced the door open.

If he didn't look so annoyed, he could be described as menacing. Physically, he looked normal, tall, dark hair subtly waved where it wasn't matted down by sweat. Thick 5:00 shadow. But his demeanor, the imperceptible 'aura' that some people gave off, suggested disdain and arrogance. This was one who saw others as either useful or useless.

He scowled. The apartment was empty. And his information was supposedly accurate. Time to hit up 'cousin Kenny' and update his information.

That boy. Josh. This was clearly his doing. Of all of them, he was the only one (he believed) he hadn't fully broken down. He'd take pleasure getting rid of him.

**A week later, Stone Town.**

Kari Kamiya got up. She had to admit, it was nice living here. The air was a lot fresher at least. Something caught her ear, something on the edge of her hearing. Laughter.

"That's...Tai? And Davis, I think." Curious, Kari put on a dressing gown and walked down the stairs, wincing as her feet touched the cold concrete.

She opened the door to the small rec room where Kyle sometimes slept. He wasn't home right now; he and June had gone to a movie, and had called back saying that they were staying at Davis' home (Under June's father's VERY watchful eye). Surprisingly, Davis had relented, and had come here to hang out with Tai.

"Not bad." Davis was saying, he and Tai watching a TV intently. "The animation's a bit better than back home."

"What are you watching?" Kari asked.

"Huh? Oh, hi Kari. Hope we didn't wake you."

Kari tried to wrap her head around the concept of a polite Davis, then walked over and looked at the TV. "What is that?"

"Saint Scyther." Tai replied. "I saw it on a few weeks ago."

"Saint...didn't you watch that back home?"

"That was Saint Seiya. Same idea here, but the Cloths are all based on Pokemon. It's kinda cool. But the best part is after this."

"Yeah, Tai's told me all about it!" Davis added. "You said it was totally wrong?" Tai nodded.

Then, it started. Take 'Pegasus Fantasy'. Change it to 'Pichu no Fantasy'. Sing it in a childish, slowed down style. Make all the characters super-deformed Pokemon, wearing amour.

Incredulous, Kari watched as Bronze Saint Pichu went to Gold Nurse Saint Blissey to cry about how Silver Saint Badzt Marril had stolen his lunch, and Gold Saint Houdour was tormenting Bronze Saint Togepi. It was a twisted, almost demonic 'Hamtaro no Ken' meets 'Hello Kitty'. Davis was already helpless with laughter on the floor.

"I'm leaving now. I'm going to get dressed, find Gatomon, and go very far away from here." Kari got up, and left the room, bad taste stuck in her brain.

It was a cool day. Kari had forgone her usual attire in favor of something a bit warmer; old jeans, grey cotton t-shirt, and a jacket. The only suitable footwear she could find was some old pink furry snow boots that Mimi had donated. Swallowing her pride, she put them on and went to town.

**Real World, About the same time**

Gail Herrera stared at the scraggly bank clerk. "You...YOU TOLD HIM!" she shrieked.

"But...he's **family**" Kenny whined.

Gail took out the credit card and flung it in his face. "I'm closing my account out. Now."

"But-"

"Fine. Where's the manager?"

The last thing Kenny saw was his career going out the window.

**Pokemon World**

It was a small cafe, not far from the restaurant where Kyle had proposed to June. Gatomon was still in the Digital World, catching up with other digimon she had not seen in some time.

There was a crunching sound in the thin layer of snow nearby. Glancing over, she saw a familiar shape. "Agumon? Tai, is that you?"

Josh faced the speaker. A young girl, dressed for the cold weather. She was cute, he noted idly. "Umm...sorry. I'm a little lost."

"It's alright, I'm new here too. I'm Kari."

Agumon glanced up. "Kari Kamiya? From Japan?" Confused, Kari nodded.

"Agumon, you sound like a fanboy or something."

"Well, she might have the ans-"

"Shhh!" Josh hissed. "Sorry, he's a bit...eccentric"

Kari smiled. "It's alright. Tai's Agumon's the same."

Josh nodded. "Yeah. I'm Josh. Actually...well, I was wandering around this world. It's really nice."

Kari nodded. "I miss Japan, but yes, this is a nice place." She looked at Josh. "Thinking of moving here?"

"That obvious?"

Kari smiled. "Well, there's no shortage of space here."

"Yeah, but I'm the only digidestined in my family, so..." He trailed off, letting Kari draw the obvious conclusion.

"No problem. Anyone can come here, as long as a digidestined brings them." He covered it well, but Kari was certain she saw his face light up for a second. There was also something in his eyes, something...an almost hunted look. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing." Josh wondered if Kari could feel the wall slamming down. He didn't dare let her know why he was doing all this. "I should go. Talk to you later!"

"Josh? Wait!" Agumon said, chasing after his partner.

Kari got up from the table to follow the two. Izzy chose that moment to arrive, however. "Kari? What's wrong?"

"Izzy? Hi." Kari answered. "I think someone wants to move to this world." She glanced down the road, wondering where Josh had gotten to.

"Oh? A friend?" Izzy asked. Kari caught the slightly worried tone in his voice, and smiled mischievously at him. "Ahh...sorry."

"It's alright. I can handle a little jealousy. But only a little." She glanced back in the direction Josh had gone, and frowned. She couldn't pick lies out like June could, but she was fairly good (in her opinion) at reading people.

"Who's chasing you?"

A few feet away, Sneasel stepped out from her cover, shimmered, and vanished. This might bear reporting to Lord Demon, she decided.

A few feet behind -her-, a ragged Phantomon briefly phased into visibility, decided the same thing and vanished to report back to his master.

**Real World**

Gail pulled the car into the main road leading out of town. The kids were packed already, and she knew that Josh would be able to catch up.

Kristen suddenly sat bolt upright, making a strange, engine seizing noise. "The laptop!" she half-shrieked.

Jake was about to add something, but was cut off as Gail executed a picture-perfect bootlegger reverse, threw the car into high gear, and flew back to her old apartment.

The laptop, sitting forgotten on the table, glowed, and Josh and Agumon exited. "Mom?" Josh called.

"Well, well." an adult voice called. Josh, snarling, kicked the door to the living room open. He did wave Agumon back. As far as he knew, Michael didn't know about digimon. Yet.

"What the hell are you doing here, Michael?" Josh growled. "I guess the phrase 'restraining order' is too complex for your pea-brain?"

Michael's eyes narrowed. "That's no way to talk to your dear old dad, Joshua." His voice was calm, almost gentle, but the effect was ruined by the barely-hidden mania in his eyes.

"I wouldn't know, I don't have a dad anymore." Come on, Agumon. Get through the portal.

There was a faint hiss. Michael feigned curiosity. "Now, what might you be hiding in there? You always seem to be running off somewhere." He advanced, but Josh moved to block him. "Out of the way, boy. I'm your father." He made a fist for emphasis.

"Go ahead." Josh taunted. "Who'll the cops believe? A jackass who's violating a restraining order, or a kid with a black eye?" Josh's own fists were clenched. "But just so you know, you don't get any freebies."

"Neither do you." Michael advanced. Josh pulled back, ready to swing, when the door burst open. That alone didn't stop them.

The distinctive 'click' of a .38 revolver being cocked did. "Get the hell away from my son, you sick bastard." Gail aimed the handgun at Michael.

"Why Gail, how good of you to show up. And you brought the kids. Why not put the piece down and we can talk?"

The bullet took a chunk out of the wall. "You are trespassing, violating a court order, and I just don't like you. Josh." Gail nodded to the room Josh had come out of. Somewhat shaken, Josh went back in, grabbed the laptop, and ran over. "And yes, I have a license and a permit, 'dear.' Something about being married to a sick manipulator like you makes firearms issuers all sympathetic." Josh came back, laptop in his arms, threw a final glare at Michael, and left. Gail, gun still trained on Michael, backed out of the apartment. "Don't come near us again." The door slammed shut.

Michael scowled. He'd forgotten she had taken a course on handguns. Damn in-laws.

"Come with me." Michael had a second to whirl around, wonder why a black cat was walking upright and talking to him, before he was encased in ice.

**Digital World**

Kari was on her way out of Primary Village when Izzy caught up. She had been out for several days that week, checking around the digital world. Tai was only slightly worried; he knew Kari could take care of herself.

Izzy knew that too. Simple, really. It was just that boy she seemed to be asking about. Not that he was jealous or anything. Horribly insecure, maybe, but -never-jealous.

"Kari?"

"Hm? Oh, hi Izzy? What are you doing here?"

"Ahh..." Izzy started, a bit nervously. "Everyone was just wondering where you were, that's all. Tai said you were off on some quest for an Agumon. Is Gatomon alright?"

Kari smiled sweetly, in that special way that said 'You really expect me to BUY that?'. "If you're that worried about me, you could come with me." she said.

"Sure!" Izzy replied, a bit too quickly.

"Good. I hate complacent boyfriends." She winked, and ran off, leaving Izzy behind.

"Why did I fall for the evil digidestined?" Izzy wondered out loud, recalling Tai's warning about dating his sister.

(No, Tai's sister. Izzy doesn't even HAVE a sister. Ye gods, you readers are sick. Sick sick SICK! -ed)

**Real World**

"You're late." Gail said, pulling into a gas station.

"I know, but I got a lead."

"Someone in Japan will take us in?" Jake asked, a bit expectantly.

"Better. How's a different world sound?"

"Josh? Maybe you should...expand on that." Gail's voice was calm, controlled, and laced with deadly menace.

**Dark Ocean**

Demon regarded the whimpering human. "That's it? I was expecting something more imposing."

"I am sorry." Sneasel answered, casting a glance at Magnatar, still embedded in a control spire, twitching feebly every now and then. "I thought that he might have some connection to another digidestined we could use like Ken."

"Well, I doubt this 'Josh' would want to rescue this wretch. Throw him out. The Skull Satamon are getting hungry again."

Michael tried to say something, anything. He had, since his youth, always managed to control everyone around him, relatives, friends, everyone. He could manipulate people easily. It had been a game to him.

Now, he was totally out of his depth. He hadn't even had a chance to say anything before Demon's mental power slammed into his mind, exposing every last one of his sins for all to see. And hadn't even wasted the energy to laugh at him.

His initial rage had vanished almost instantly, as his every attempt to resist Demon's power was simply ignored. He hadn't, quite, been reduced to a gibbering mass. (Yet. -ed)

Sneasel digivolved up to Lynxmon, grabbed the man by the collar, and dragged him out.

**Digital World**

Kari leaned closer to hear the Yukimibotamon. "Yeah, over there." Kari glanced in the direction indicated. There was an Agumon sitting on a small rock, looking incredibly miserable.

"Wait here, please?" Kari asked Izzy.

"Uhh," Izzy tried to say.

Kari smiled, gave Izzy a light kiss, and headed over to the Agumon. "It'd be better if I don't crowd him." she whispered. Izzy nodded, and stepped back.

Agumon looked up. "Kari?"

"Hello again. Can we talk?"

"Well..."

"We just want to help Josh, that's all. I can keep any secrets, if you want to share them with us." Agumon looked torn. "Josh...he's in some kind of trouble, isn't he?" Agumon nodded. "Well, that's it then."

"Huh?" Agumon looked confused.

"Josh is in trouble, so we should go help, right?"

Agumon waved an arm. "It's not like that. This is...His father's not a nice person. Josh wants to relocate his family somewhere safe. And that world we met you on sounds perfect. But he won't rest until all of his family is moved."

"Okay." Kari said. "Like I said, we can bring everyone over. And without a digivice, no one can follow them."

Agumon shook his head. "It's not like that. Even once we get everyone else moved, Josh...I think Josh wants to go after him."

Kari frowned. This was a bit outside her experience.

Note:

If Kari Kamiya had a flaw, it was her innate tendency to assume someone was good, or had the potential to be good. Even the worst of Ken's sins could be explained as a combination of external control and misdirected anger.

In her defense, she had never met someone like Michael who was, by now, almost devoid of any goodness in his soul. Also in her defense, Agumon had not been told about the worst of Michael's crimes.

**Human World**

Gail leaned back in the apartment chair. The bank manager, after hearing how one of his clerks had freely given out personal information, had both had Kenney removed, and offered to put up the family in a different hotel, at the bank's expense.

"So, we really can go to...another world?" Kristen asked, a bit incredulous. "I know about the Digital World, but this place..."

"Hey, I'm there." Jake said. At Gail and Josh's glance, he shrugged. "Look, I'm tired of running, alright? We go there, set up a new home, and forget this place ever existed." Josh's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Well," Gail sighed, "it'd be easier than finding digimon for the rest of us. Okay, but where do we go? We can't just show up on another world with no i.d. or money. And school , what about that?"

"I'll go back in a few days and check it out. The people there are pretty decent, by the looks of it."

"Really?" Kristen asked.

"There are 10 year olds running around in the wilderness without any fear of being attacked or kidnapped." Josh replied, dead serious. "The first day I was there, three of them offered to lead me to the nearest town, and showed me around."

Even Gail looked startled. "That...that would be paradise, compared to what's happening here."

**Dark Ocean**

Michael had expected the impact to kill him. Lynxmon had tossed him off the ledge of the castle, aimed in the general direction of a large group of screaming Skull Satamon. Having never seen a digimon before, Michael had assumed that he was now in Hell.

That was when the grey ghost had appeared, the one holding the scythe and wearing an eyeball around it's 'neck'. It had grabbed Michael, and the two had teleported somewhere else.

Murmuxmon looked at the small human, barely conscious. "Well? What should I do with Demon's reject, then?"

"He had a connection to a digidestined. And his soul, while weak and pathetic, seemed kin to yours, great master."

Murmuxmon frowned. This Phantomon, itself a reject from Demon's forces, wasn't the brightest digimon around. On the other hand, he needed every bit of help he could get. Especially if he planned on facing Demon's true form again. "Well, then. Let's see what he knows." Murmuxmon motioned to Phantomon, who hovered over the human and started probing his mind.

"Hmm. This could be useful." Murmuxmon mused.

Pokemon World 

"Usually, he contacts me." Agumon explained. "He's pretty tight-lipped. I don't think he really trusts anyone outside his family."

Kari nodded. "Well, when he calls again, let me know, alright? I can help get his family through the digiport, if that's what they want."

"I know he won't say this, Kari, but thank you. I think this would mean a lot to him. Should I let him know?"

Kari thought for a second, then shook her head. "I don't think he'd appreciate it."

"What about him?" Agumon nodded to Izzy.

"He can keep a secret. None of the other digidestined will know, I promise."

"Are you sure? I mean, Josh can be pretty stubborn. He's really into the whole 'this is my problem and no one else's' thing."

Kari smiled. "I can bring him around. I met him once already, remember?"

"Okay." Agumon seemed worried, but said nothing else. "I'll let you know." Kari nodded, and backed off.

She waled over to Izzy. "Kari? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Izzy? Could you...not tell anyone about this? Just wait a few days?"

"Why?"

"It's...it's personal." Kari did chuckle a bit at Izzy's concerned expression. "I'll be fine, Izzy. I just have to help a friend move his family, that's all." Izzy nodded, but still looked uneasy. "I mean, it's not like I'd run off with him to some remote mountain resort or something," she added, deadpan.

"No, of course not," Izzy replied quickly. Then he calmed down a bit. "Kari. Just be careful, alright?"

"I'll be fine" she replied, smiling.

**Real World**

Gail listened to everything Josh said, stopping him every few minutes to clarify a point. "And you're sure Michael can't follow us?"

Josh shrugged. "Unless he gets a digivice, which I doubt." Gail's eyes narrowed. "I can't see him getting a digimon partner."

"What about that one guy? Ken?" Kristen asked, remembering the stories Agumon had told him.

"I think he was being controlled. Probably had some sort of deep seated mental problem."

"Not like anyone here..." Jake whispered. Kristen reached out and smacked him. Gail reprimanded both of them, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Anyway..." Josh growled, "why don't we get everything together and head over there?"

"Just like that?" Jake asked, startled.

"Yeah. I'm tired of running. I'd feel better if I knew you were all safe."

"I'll feel better when we're all safe." Gail corrected. "Alright. I'll start getting everything packed up. Oh, money?"

"I'll check in a few days. Maybe they have an exchange rate or something."

Gail sighed. "Well, maybe we can trade something in when we get there."

**Dark Ocean**

Murmuxmon stepped back, regarding the now less than human puppet. "Now then. Bring me your son. Understand?"

"Yes."

Murmuxmon leaned closer. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Murmuxmon, my lord and..." Michael seemed to struggle.

"Lord and?" Murmuxmon asked softly, making a gesture.

"Lord and...master."

"Such resistance. After all this time, I thought you'd have wanted to see what it's like to be on the receiving end. I suppose I could have been nice and wiped your mind, but I find rage to be an excellent motivator. Don't you agree?"

"Yes. Master." that last was dragged out of the human.

"Hmph. I suppose that boy might even thank me for what I've done. Perhaps I could entice him using you as bait."

"Whatever your will." Michael raged at the total control Murmuxmon held over him, but could do nothing.

"You bore me. Go, bring your son to me." Murmuxmon waved a hand, and Michael vanished.

**Two days later**

I'm not jealous or anything like that, Izzy told himself. I'm just doing what Tai would do, if he knew about this. After killing me for letting Kari talk me into this. Kari was a good distance away, sitting with Josh's Agumon. They both seemed to be deep in conversation. "Anything?"

Beside him, Gatomon shook her head. "I can't make out a lot, they're being quiet." Suddenly, Kari stood up, gasp reaching the two from even that distance. She then turned and ran for the nearest digiport. "Come on!" Gatomon said, taking off. Izzy ran as well.

"What's gotten into her?" Izzy panted, struggling to keep up.

"She's as bad as Tai." Gatomon sighed. "Always charging off, convinced that she has to save everyone."

"I never noticed that."

"Well, you didn't have to rein her in before. But, seeing as you're dating her now, I figure you should be warned." Gatomon caught up to Agumon just as he was about to go through. "Wait up!"

Agumon stopped. "Wh...oh, you're Kari's partner, right?"

"Both of us are, actually." Gatomon added. Izzy pointedly said nothing. "Where is she going?"

"To Josh's place to bring his family over. I have to go find Josh, he's on the other world, looking for a place for them to live."

"But...why was she so upset?" Gatomon asked.

Agumon sighed. "Well...Josh's father isn't...you see...he's not..."

Izzy gasped, seeing where this was going (and wondering if he could ever get that telepathic again). "Josh's father...abuse?" Gatomon spun around, horrified. "YOU LET KARI GO TO-"

"No!" Agumon replied. "Michael doesn't even know where the family is right now! Just me and Josh! Kari's going to go there, explain everything to them, and bring them over. What could go wrong?"

Gatomon and Izzy shared a look. They knew better than to answer that.

The digiport flared open,and the three stepped out. It was a small computer store in a shopping mall. They had already drawn a crowd.

Izzy didn't waste time. "Excuse me. Did you see a girl, about age eleven, wearing a pink shirt and yellow shorts a few minutes ago?"

"Uhh..well..."

"This is urgent!" Izzy said.

"I did!" a girl said. "She wanted to find a place on the edge of town. I told her which bus to get."

"Which one?" Gatomon asked.

"The number 12 going to...oh, wow! A talking cat! Was she, like, Sailor Moon or something?"

"Which way?" Izzy repeated, rapidly losing patience.

"East." the girl answered. "That way."

"Good. Come on!" Izzy said, running out the exit. As he ran, he took a small ball off of his belt. "Tentomon!" he called, hurling the object.

Gatomon stopped. "You put Tentomon in a pokeball?" she asked.

"He wanted to see what it was like."

"A little cozy, to be honest." the insect replied. "Need a lift?"

"Yes, east. And hurry!" With a cry and a flash, Tentomon digivolved to Kabuterimon, let Izzy and Gatomon climb on, and took off.

Kari got off the bus, spotted the correct building, and knocked several times on the door to the apartment. A large man walked up. "What?"

Kari smiled, and spoke in her cheeriest tone. "Hi, my name's Kari Kamiya, I'm a friend of the Herreras. Are they in? Room 3102."

The manager scowled at the young Japanese girl, decided she was no threat, and let her in. "Third floor, turn left. Cause any trouble and I'll have you in juvie."

"Thank you!" Kari answered, heading for the elevator.

Kari knocked on the door. No answer. "Hello? My name's Kari, I'm a friend of Josh's! Anyone home?" She knocked again, then tried the door.

Unlocked? I thought they were trying to hide out. Curious, she opened the door and entered.

Izzy scowled at his digivice, then at the ground as it shot past below them. "Are we near?" Kabuterimon asked.

"I think so." Izzy answered, wishing with all his heart he had a D-3 instead of the small silver rectangle he now held. He'd kill for a good map function right now.

"She'll be fine." Gatomon said, more to herself than anyone else.

"I know." Izzy replied anyway. After all, Kari had faced down Myotismon, the Dark Masters, Ken, Demon, countless evil digimon.

She had to be fine.

Kari had all of five seconds to realize that the Herreras were all out, and that there was a large piece of shattered glass where the patio door had been.. Then the man Kari assumed was this Michael that Agumon was talking about had grabbed her.

"Where is he?" Michael demanded, hand clamped viselike on Kari's shoulder.

"Who?" Kari asked, trying not to sound scared. In truth, this human had her more terrified than any of the digimon she had faced.

"My son, Josh. Or Gail. Jake. Kristen. WHERE?"

"You're hurting me!"

"Oh, I'll do more than that, little girl." Michael sneered. "Josh would vanish for days on end, then the rest of the family seemed to follow him. And I think you know something about it. Now talk!" He held her D-3 under her nose. "He had something like this. Is this how you keep in touch?" He sneered again. "You don't seem like his type."

Her fear managed to translate itself into anger. "I'm just trying to get him and his family away from you, you sick pervert!" she half-shouted. It ended with a wince as Michael tightened his grip further.

"How **noble**. Well, I suppose if I can't have them back...I could replace them, eh?" His head shot forward, almost hitting Kari's. She missed the splintering noise that proceeded it. She did notice the slackening of the grip on her shoulder. Michael stood up, turned to face the newcomer.

"Get the hell away from her." Izzy growled, broken chair in his hands.

**Pokemon world.**

Agumon fairly tore out of the digiport, wild-eyed. "Josh? JOSH!"

By some miracle, Josh was headed back to the digital port himself, pleased that he had managed to find a place to move everyone. Everyone in Stone Town seemed more than willing to help. "Agumon? What-" He stopped. He had seen that look before...

**Eight months ago...**

Josh tore through the portal, winced as he felt his ankle twist slightly, and looked into the living room of his home of 10 years.

Michael, fist clenched, ending bit of a shout coming from his lips, stood over his mother. Josh's hand fell on a metal item; a fireplace poker, he found out later, and he charged his dad, screaming.

**Seven months...**

"You, sir, shall be remanded to a minimum security penitentiary for a period of five months."

Michael snarled at the judge. "That little punk attacked ME!"

"After you tried to kill mom." Josh replied hotly.

"That a challenge? Oh, I am going to ENJOY BREAKING YOU, YOU LITTLE-"

"ENOUGH!" the judge roared. "Bailiff, take him away!"

Josh and Michael glared at each other. Both knew that this wasn't over.

**Present**

"I'm ending this. Now."

**Real World**

Izzy still gripped one chair leg in his hand, staring at Michael. "Well," the older man said, "I suppose you're some sort of knight in shining amour? Walk away, she's already tossed you over for my insolent son."

Snarling, Izzy ran forward; Michael snatched the chair leg from his hands, grabbed his arm, and tossed him aside. He keeled over a second later as Gatomon buried a fist in his gut. Incredulous, Michale looked at the digimon, not sure what he was seeing.

Gatomon got a glance at Kari, saw her holding her shoulder. With a shriek, she jumped forward, claws extended. Michael reared back, but still received two long, jagged cuts to his face. Michael screamed back, and managed to back-hand Gatomon. Tentomon was still outside; Izzy had told him to find the rest of Josh's family.

Everyone missed the hissing noise the digiport made. And no one noticed when Josh entered the room a second later.

It took Josh about 2 seconds to analyze the situation. Michael was grappling with some redheaded kid. The girl he had met in Stone Town a short while back was lying against the wall, clutching her shoulder. And there was a weird looking white cat lying by her.

"It's a shame there's no fireplace poker around, dad." Josh growled.

Michael stopped, glanced at Josh. "So, these are who you've been hanging around with. You never introduce me to your friends anymore, boy."

"I'll introduce you...to your undertaker." Josh replied with the last bit of rational thought in his mind. That bit left a few seconds later as he charged Michael.

"Hello? Josh's family?" Tentomon called, flying around. "You here? HELLO?"

"Over here!" someone whispered. Curious, Tentomon flew over. "You're one of those digimon things, right?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yes." Tentomon answered. "My name's Tentomon. Are you Josh's sister?"

"You know Josh?" Kristen asked.

"Yes. Come on, we have to get you out of here!"

"But...he's back in..."

If Tentomon had human eyes, they would have widened. "Kari's in there...and Izzy!"

Jake shot up. "He's not hurting anyone else. Come on!"

Josh's initial rush of anger had given away to surprise; Michael was easily overpowering him. "Well? Is this all your rage has to offer? Feel better with a fireplace poker?" With a grunt, he shoved Josh away. "I'm feeling a lot of anger right now. Mind if I vent on you for a while?" Josh didn't reply, instead kneeing Michael. He backed up, then head butted the man, right on the nose. Josh backed up, then stared, stunned as the bloody nose he had just given Michael healed itself. "I guess deals with the devil do pay off." he mused, grabbing Josh by the face and shoving him away.

"What are you?"

"Kari..." Gatomon whispered, just coming to. "He...he smells like the Dark Ocean and...Demon..."

Josh heard that. "Nothing new there. I knew you were too much of a wuss to do anything on your own."

"Shut up."

"I mean, you always got off on making other people do what you wanted. I can't believe how long it took me to realize how pathetic you are."

"SHUT UP!" Michael roared, lunging forward. His speed caught Josh off guard, being struck on the chin. Josh spun around and fell down, staggered by the force of the blow. "I'll finish you, then I'll find the rest of my family, and take care of them too! Well? Are you still laughing?" He bent down, and grabbed Josh by the back of his shirt collar. "I can't hear you!"

"Michael!" a woman's voice called. Michael turned around, and saw Gail, Jake, and Kristen.

"Ha ha." Jake snarled. "Do it!"

"SUPER SHOCKER!" Tentomon yelled, firing an electrical blast. It struck Michael square in the chest, shook him violently for a second, then dropped him on the ground.

"Tentomon?" Izzy groaned, getting up.

"Izzy! I was so worried about you!" Tentomon flew to the arms of his partner.

Izzy looked up, still a bit woozy. "You...attacked him."

Tentomon shrugged. "He attacked you. I don't see a problem."

"I...Kari!" Izzy got up, and made his way over to Kari. "Kari? Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Kari said quietly.

"It's over." Gail said quietly. "Tentomon told us about Stone Town. And I'm tired of this place. Let's get our things and go."

"It's not done." Josh said. "We can't leave him here."

"Yeah, and the police will believe us when we say a giant beetle flew over and attacked him with a lightning bolt." Kristen glared at Josh. "It's over. Leave him."

"So he can go after someone else?" He glanced at Kari. "We should make sure that he never does this again."

Gail was about to ask what Josh meant by that when a wave of foulness filled the room. "Touching." Murmuxmon said. "But I'm not done with him. Or you, either." The undead digimon waved a hand, and the entire Herrera family vanished. "Don't worry, I'm not one of Demon's stoolies. But I do plan to replace him. Keep that in mind, if you plan a rescue." Murmuxmon vanished, laughing softly.

To be continued!

Next time:

Seeing the potential power inside of Josh, Murmuxmon manipulates him and Michael into a final battle. Now the rest of Josh's family must try to save him from Michael, Murmuxmon, and himself. And who is the strange digimon that offers help to them? Can they trust a digimon who has spent his life in the Dark Ocean? Next time, on Digicross, Episode 41:

'Force 3! Socramon!'


	42. Force 3: Socramon!

Murmuxmon watched the three, still dazed by the transport, flee. He didn't care. they were bait, nothing more. And he had what he wanted. He leered at Agumon, trapped in a small metal cage, then got up. 

He so enjoyed psychological torture. He'd been on the receiving end of so much, after all. It would be...liberating to inflict it on these two fine examples of hatred and loathing. He sniggered, then laughed, as Josh and Michael, each locked in a separate cell, groaned...

* * *

Digimon: Digicross Episode 42 Force 3 - Socramon!  
Socramon and his evolutions created by Cave Cat. Nice person, very tolerant of this lazy author.  
Again, this chapter's rated PG-13 for non-cartoon violence, language, and mature subject matter (that wonderfully vague warning that tells a reader nothing)

* * *

Gail glanced behind her, making sure that Jake and Kristen were still with her. All she could remember was the apartment, seeing Josh trying to kill Michael (which still tore at her heart. Was this Josh's fate? To become as much an animal as his father?), then that strange talking beetle electrocuting her ex and... 

This place. This couldn't be the Digital World Josh always spoke of, could it?

"Mom!" Kristen gasped, pointing to an exit. The three headed out.

"What about Josh?"

Gail shook her head. "We have to find help first, Jake," she answered. "We don't even have one of those...things to help us right now." She stopped, confused. "Does anyone else...hear waves?"

"Great." Jake snorted. "Spring Break in Hell."

"Shut up." Kristen hissed.

"Quiet, both of you. We need to find a way back."

**Real World**

Normally, Izzy would have called the other digidestined as soon as Murmuxmon had shown up. However, he had spent the last few minutes holding Kari, who had started to speak, then fell to her knees, trembling.

"It's alright, Kari. He's gone now."

"It's...I shouldn't be like this," Kari answered, voice still a bit shaky. "I've faced evil digimon, why was this different?"

Izzy smiled a bit. "Because it's always different when it's a human. Face it, with digimon, you usually know where you stand. But someone like that...thing," Izzy was reluctant to call Michael a 'man', "well, it's not the digital world."

"We're going to have to save him too, aren't we," Gatomon asked.

Izzy sighed. "Yeah. We'd be no better than Josh's dad if we left him behind."

"Stop that." Kari said quietly, some of her wit coming back. "Kyle's supposed to be the noble one."

"No," Izzy replied, "Kyle's the apologetic digidestined. You're the noble one."

"Stop it!" Kari blushed a bit.

"You are. Anyone else would have just wanted to leave Michael behind. Me included."

"Don't be so sure. Part of me does. He's..." Kari sighed. "I thought the Dark Masters were that evil."

Izzy held Kari tightly. "Yeah, I know. But we're better than that, right?"

**Dark Ocean**

Jacob tripped, fell over, and slid partway down an small black hill, mother and sister half running, half sliding after him. Wincing, he forced himself to get up. "Skinned elbow. Great."

"Around here, that's mild," someone commented. A humanoid...cat strode into view, grey and black fur seeming to melt out of the shadows. "But then, you're not from here, are you?"

"Get away from him," Gail snapped, hand going to where she had kept her handgun.

"Relax," the cat replied. "If I was here to hurt you, I'd have done it when you came stumbling out of Murmuxmon's little camp."

"Murmux..." Kristen stumbled over the name.

"Local Mega level digimon that wants to take over Demon's place as boss of this area. Be glad Demon didn't get you, or you wouldn't even be alive right now. And, no, I don't work for him, either."

"Who are you anyway," Jacob asked. "And why should we trust you, anyway?"

"Black Socramon. Oh, and, to be honest, you don't have much of a choice, now do you?"

Gail glared at the digimon. "What's in it for you?"

Black Socramon shrugged. "Simple. We both want out of here. It used to be fun, but I'm tired of all the fighting going on here. I'd much rather spend a night sneaking around, not dodging Skull Satamon. Let me tell you," he winked at Kristen, "it gets old real quick."

"So, you help us, we help you." Jacob shrugged, "sounds fair." As his mother started to speak, he cut her off, "Look, it's not like we have a choice, right? We get out of here, find those other digidestined Agumon told us about, and come back for Josh. You know him. He'll be fine."

**Murmuxmon's lair**

Murmuxmon watched as he subtly altered the thoughts of his two captives , delighting as that energy triggered the desired responses and the generation of dark energy, much more potent than the type normally emitted by the Control Spires. Once enough was generated, he could claim it and try another attack on Demon's forces.

The boy in particular was a fountain of dark energy. And his partner Agumon was the perfect barometer, if the greying of the digimon's skin was anything to go by.

* * *

He'll never control anyone again. I'll kill him before he harms my family again. 

Even if I have to die in the process.

* * *

He'll either obey me or die. They all will!

* * *

**Real World**

Everyone had made it back to Izzy's home, where Izzy and Kari recounted their encounter. After one blistering outburst by Tai, Kari and Sora had led him aside, while the other digidestined planned their next move.

"So, we're going after them, right?" Cody asked, face still a little red. "What about that guy Michael?"

Izzy sighed. "Him too, even if it's just to drop him off at a police station. We just have to ge to the Dark Ocean again."

Ken frowned. "It'll be hard. Everytime we've opened up a portal, it's sent a signal to Demon that we're coming in. Plus the places that we can open a portal are very far between. Logically, the place where the portal was last opened might be the best place to form a new one."

Izzy nodded. "My thinking exactly. I think we'll need Imperialdramon again."

"Wait," Yolei said. "If we go charging in with Imperialdramon, won't that draw even more attention? Maybe a sneak attack or something might work better."

"Maybe," Izzy agreed. "But I want to keep this just to this group, alright? None of the other digidestined we've met have any experience fighting the Dark Ocean."

"How about Paildramon and Komainumon go in separately?" Davis shrugged as everyone glanced at him. "Well, they're pretty sneaky on their own, and if things go bad, we can just super evolve to Imperialdramon and bust our way out."

"Not bad," June said, impressed.

"I have my moments," Davis replied.

**Dark Ocean**

"This way." Black Socramon said to the humans. "I remember seeing some dimensional weaknesses a while ago. There are a lot of guards here, so we'll have to be careful."

Gail looked back. "This is wrong. I'm going back for Josh."

"And do what," Black Socramon asked sharply. "It'd take an army to get whoever you're talking about out of there. Listen to the kid," he nodded at Jacob, "he's right."

"You're right about one thing," a female voice challenged. "It will take an army to get him out. But you...it'll take a miracle." Sneasel grinned evilly, claws already extending.

"Oh, just bring it, cutie." Black Socramon replied, matching her smile.

**Murmuxmon's lair**

Josh, still half-blinded from Murmuxmon's treatments, staggered down a hallway. He knew that he had to get out of here, but he couldn't remember why. Just that he had someone to find...

He squinted, as a door opened, flooding the hallway with a dull light. Arm across his eyes, Josh staggered out, just now managing to clear his eyes. "Whoever's out there, this ISN'T FUNNY!"

"Oh, I assure you, I take this endeavour most seriously."

Josh looked up, recognising the voice. "You. Where's my family?" He glared at Murmuxmon. "And where's Agumon?"

"Oh, your family and your digimon are most safe, I assure you," Murmuxmon lied. "In fact, I was just about to arrange a reunion with one of them. I am sure that you have...much to discuss." Josh heard a door open behind him. His next words vanished as he saw Michael stride out, apparently none the worse for wear. "I believe that your father has a few things to say to you, too."

Everything else left Josh's mind, replaced with an all-consuming fury. If he had any awareness left, he might have marvelled at the fact that he was, quite literally, seeing red. With little more than a snarl, he charged forward, hands reaching for Michael's throat.

Michael reacted the same, though for entirely different reasons. As the two enemies fought, Murmuxmon leaned back, watching the dark energy the two were giving off slowly build.

**Elsewhere in the Dark Ocean**

Socramon landed heavily as Sneasel flipped over his head and delivered a powerful kick. "Pathetic. When Arukenimon said that she had detected something prowling around this area, I was hoping for something more challenging."

"I'll give you a challenge." Black Socramon growled, energy crackling over his body. "Nightmare Thunder!"

Sneasel lazily dodged the bolt, unconcerned. "Pathetic. But, if you want a fight, I suppose I could stop holding back. Sneasel, Dark Digivolve to...Lady Devimon!" Transforming into the giant dark angel, Lady Devimon floated over, leering at the smaller digimon. "I suppose that I have an unfair advantage."

"And?"

"What," Lady Devimon answered. "I just said that I have an unfair advantage. Darkness Wave!" Black Socramon just barely got out of the way, trying to figure out just why he was fighting for these humans.

With a surge of energy, Black Socramon darted forward, jumped off a rock, and managed to land a strike on Lady Devimon, tearing a gash along her face. "Still think I'm pathetic?"

Lady Devimon traced a finger along the wound, smiling. "Yes, if that's all you can manage." She flinched slightly as a rock bounced off of the back of her head. Glancing behind her, she saw that Jacob had picked up several small stones, and was hurling them at her. "Is that supposed to be accomplishing something?"

Gail looked on in shock, wondering how her son had managed to get over there, and what had possessed him to attack the giant digimon. Her shock doubled when she saw that Kristen had joined her brother.

**Real World**

Izzy frowned as he worked on the computer. Kari and Tai were just outside. Kari was uneasy about re-entering the place where she had been attacked; Tai had offered to stay with her, whether she wanted him to or not. "You're clear on what to do?"

Kyle nodded. "Go in, get the Josh's family, knock out Michael in necessary, come back here."

"And drop that slimebag off at the police station, then ferry everyone else to the pokemon world." Davis completed. "Simple."

"Yeah, but how do we knock out someone like Kari described? I mean, you have a black belt, Ken, but still..." Yolei trailed off, wondering if she had said too much.

"No problem," Kyle answered. "I have Windy with me." He indicated the pokeball that held his one ghost pokemon (Gastly, remember? -ed). "Any trouble, and I'll just hypnotise him. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to do this." Kyle shivered a bit at an unmentioned memory. June, standing by him, made a mental note to ask him about it sometime.

"Alright," Izzy said, still uneasy. "Just give me a few more minutes, and I'll have the portal ready. Ken?" Ken nodded. He was the one who had to actually open the portal, something that still troubled him.

**Murmuxmon's realm**.

The two humans were fighting with a ferocity that might have terrified more rational watchers. Michael's nose was splayed across his face; one of Josh's eyes was half-swelled, and both sported numerous bruises and cuts. Both were fighting with a level of pure hate that made even Murmuxmon look astonished.

Still, the minor shock passed, and Murmuxmon leaned back to enjoy the horrific battle, watching as the two continued to fight. And, he was pleased to note, the amount of energy being generated showed no sign of tapering off. More, he was able to pick out the subtle variations in the energy fields generated by the two. The older human's field was almost pure in its fear and loathing of the younger human's defiance, streaked with a good amount of rage and confusion over that defiance. The boy's aura, on the other hand, was almost crystalline in its clarity. The need to protect his family from the elder human had been perverted into a psychotic, homicidal rage, any compassion burnt away by Murmuxmon's manipulations.

Somehow, Murmuxmon knew that, despite the difference in physical strength, the one called Josh would eventually kill his father. The older man had too much fear in him, which blunted the power of his ferocity.

Of course, Murmuxmon intended to step in far before that happened. Both humans would be ideal batteries for him. And he knew which of their buttons to press now.

* * *

Black Socramon staggered to his feet. "Well, this bites. Saved by humans." 

The two children ignored him, dodging attacks from Lady Devimon. "Well, I suppose I should thank you for making this somewhat interesting." Idly, she sent a few bats at the two humans, forgetting about them. She hovered forward, blood-red nails glistening slightly. There was a sharp crack. Gail, .38 still smoking, took aim at Lady Devimon's head. "Cute."

The gun spat, making everyone flinch. There was a blur, then, somehow, Gail was staring at Lady Devimon, who was holding the small bullet between two fingers. With a smirk, she bent her hand back, and flung the projectile at Black Socramon. He yowled in pain, and collapsed.

Gail stepped back, gun clattering to the ground as Lady Devimon floated forward. "There are some on my homeworld who would reward such devotion. Luckily, such concepts are not welcome here."

Jacob and Kristen ran to where Black Socramon had fallen. "Get up!" Jacob said. "That witch is gonna hurt mom!"

**Real World**

"Okay," Izzy said, getting up and stepping away from the laptop. "We're ready."

Nodding, Ken stepped forward, black D-3 out and already humming slightly. Yolei watched, nervous. She knew how much he hated calling up the darkness inside him. Seeing the strain he was going through, she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, her other hand on his, helping him to hold his D-3 steady.

"Get ready to go." Kyle said. beside him, Growlithe grinned, ready. The other 3 digidestined and their partners that made up Imperialdramon made similar exchanges.

After a minute, the digiport on Izzy's computer screen shimmered, and changed into a swirling black vortex. "It's ready!" Ken said. "Let's go!" The four digidestined went through, the four digimon DNA digivolving to Komainumon and Paildramon in transit.

The portal opened, and the six beings came out in a large cavern. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to visit," Arukenimon taunted. Behind her, dozens of control spires shifted into evil digimon, all ready to attack.

"Izzy goofed," Davis asked.

Ken nodded. "I knew there'd be more interdimensional drift," he sighed as the battle started.

* * *

Michael had, not surprisingly (to Murmuxmon's eyes) gone down first, falling before Josh's rage and fury. Josh had toppled over a few moments later, and the two were sprawled, only a few feet apart. Not that it mattered. Two amorphous blobs of energy had formed over the two, and now these forms, the incarnation of both humans' very spirits, grappled with each other. 

Murmuxmon was ecstatic. This was exactly what he had hoped for, but on a scale he hadn't dared dream of. Both combatants hated each other so much that their hate had taken physical form now, and continued the battle after the bodies had worn out. Even from where he sat, he could already feel his strength increasing, the dark energy released from the fight filling his corroded body with raw power.

* * *

Gail's back struck a large stone. She was trapped. Sensing this, Lady Devimon raised her hands, ready to launch a final attack. With a shout, a hand came down, slamming into the rock beside Gail's head, crushing it. The other hand dove, then twisted, aiming behind her. "Say goodbye to your brats." 

Gail had no time to scream as the red claws shot at Kristen. There was time, however, for the wounded Black Socramon to twist, jump, and intercept the attack! As he did, he seemed to glow, and a small sphere came out of his body. Before it could resolve, the attack struck, and the sphere split into three pieces, each one going into the hands of one of the humans.

"No!" Lady Devimon pulled back, already calling up an attack to strike the digimon down. "Bloody Claw!"

"Evolve...Cheetahmon!" a voice shouted. The item Jacob held flared, and Socramon's body shifted, transforming into a humanoid cat, dressed in army fatigues with a large...bazooka?...slung over its back. The attack skittered off the back of the bazooka, scuffing the paint on it but little else. The digimon rolled to the side, glared at Lady Devimon, and countered. "Electricity Cannon!" An azure blast of lightning shot out of Cheetahmon's mouth, and was deflected by the dark angel. "I don't know what you did, but I LOVE IT!" He did a quick backflip, nearly tripping as the bazooka on his back threw his balance off. "Alright, ROUND 2!"

* * *

The spirits recoiled from each other, merging back into their respective bodies. "Excellent, this is the perfect time to claim my prize." Murmuxmon stood up, and leaped over to where the two lay. Bony hands extended, the undead digimon started drawing in energy from both humans, body swelling as his strength increased. As he exulted, he failed to notice Agumon regain consciousness, and start trying to break out of his cage. 

An eyebrow reformed just in time to twitch. Josh seemed to be resisting him. "Hm, that won't do. Well, I suppose I can make do with just one battery." Murmuxmon's hand raised as soon as it finished draining the energy out of Josh. "A shame really. Of the two, your energy was much darker." An ebony spear materialised, aimed at Josh's heart. "Well, so long, then."

"NO!" Agumon shot out, jaws clamping onto Murmuxmon's arm.

* * *

Jacob bit back the urge to swear. He'd seen a few anime shows, and it seemed to be a rule that the new hero was supposed to be invincible during his intro episode. 

Sadly, reality was wrecking that myth. Cheetahmon was holding his own, but lacked the power to do any real damage. "Doesn't this thing do anything else," he snarled, shaking the small digivice. It was different from the one Josh had. This was smaller, oddly shaped, with what looked like a small plug on one side. It was pulsing in time to Cheetahmon's attacks.

Jacob made his way over to Kristen. "I'm open to ideas."

Kristen skipped the obligatory brother/sister repartee. "Why's your's blinking? Mine's not."

"No..." Jacob trailed off, seeing that, what he had mistaken for a slot was actually a plug-in point. "Maybe..." He reached out, his digivice plugging into Kristen's, the two digivices flaring up again.

Cheetahmon was about to reach for his bazooka when he felt the change happen. "Evolve... Cougmon!" The digimon changed again, this time smoothing out a bit, still humanoid but clad in armour, massive talons coming out of his hands and feet.

"Okay...you got the fighter, I got the shooter. I wonder what mom got?" Jacob shrugged, and watched as Cougmon changed tactics, surprising Lady Devimon with a flurry of claw strikes. He winced as Cougmon jumped, spun, and landed four blasts of electricity on Lady Devimon, a move he seemed to call 'Fury Claw.' He seemed to be doing a little better, but Lady Devimon still had the edge.

As the fighting continued, Gail, her own piece of the digivice forgotten in her pocket, made her way back to the coliseum. She still had to save Josh.

* * *

Murmuxmon swung his arm, flinging Agumon off. "Very well, if you want to die now, so be it." A hand was raised, and a red and black ball of energy formed, aimed at Agumon's head. 

"Josh..." Agumon whimpered. "Josh, please wake up..."

The ball launched. I am going to die, Agumon realized. "JOSH!"

Josh's eyes snapped open. In the millisecond between that and the ball striking, Murmuxmon noted a sudden shift in the energy coming from Josh's body. Then the ball struck Agumon, enveloping the little digimon completely then exploded, kicking up a huge dust cloud.. Murmuxmon stepped back, waiting.

His wait was rewarded as Metal Tyrannomon flew out of the cloud, blue-white Nuclear Laser stabbing at the undead digimon. The beams struck, actually drawing a grunt from Murmuxmon and forcing him back a few steps, just as Metal Tyrannomon's claw grabbed onto Murmuxmon and lifted the digital lich skywards. Murmuxmon looked into the eyes of Metal Tyrannomon. Despite the situation, he laughed. "Ah, so you have the ability to draw on Dark Energy as I do, eh? A shame I know how to use it better."

Metal Tyrannomon's only reply was a snarl and firing a Giga Destroyer. The missile didn't even clear the barrel in his claw hand, exploding and sending Murmuxmon flying, demonic cackle continuing. Metal Tyrannomon, hand blown off, staggered back to his feet, eyes sparking blue. A bit of Josh's rage fuelled him now, driving him on regardless of personal cost.

Murmuxmon got to his feet. "I suppose this is where we duel for the body and soul of your friend Josh, me with my command of all the Dark Energy I've harvested, you with your righteous indignation. Well, I'm not in the mood. Plus, I've spotted your weakness." Faster than the massive digimon could track, Murmuxmon darted over to Josh, and clamped a hand over his neck. Other hand above his head, Murmuxmon cried out, and drained the energy directly out of Josh. Metal Tyrannomon took two steps, staggered, then collapsed, reverting to Agumon.

"Mmmm. Tangy." Murmuxmon mused, walking over to Michael and repeating the procedure. The figure that tackled him mid-feed was mistaken for another meddling digimon.

Then he saw that it was the boy's mother. "More for the feast."

"Get away from her," Josh groaned, forcing himself up.

"Or what," Murmuxmon asked sardonically. Josh had to admit, he didn't have much left to offer. Murmuxmon had done something to him. He couldn't focus, he felt drained of all his rage and anger, only a void left in him.

* * *

Jacob winced as Lady Devimon blasted Cougmon away with another bolt of energy. Despite the digimon's claims to the contrary, Lady Devimon was slowly wearing him down. He glared at the fallen angel, wishing for a miracle. 

Which came in the form of a white haired witch being tossed in front of Lady Devimon, and a weird green and blue digimon aiming a pair of autocannons at her. "Walk away," Paildramon ordered. Jacob could almost hear the ammunition being chambered in the two cannons. A short distance away, there was a yell, and two other digimon sailed into the ocean and exploded on contact with the water. Another digimon, taller and dressed like he was going to a kung-fu movie festival, approached. "You are out of control spires, Arukenimon. Give up."

"I'm never out." Arukenimon snarled, slamming a hand into the ground. Two more spires shot up, just as Lady Devimon charged at Paildramon. Arukenimon shifted from her humanoid form to her spider body form, and sprayed Komainumon with a web. The hybrid digimon struggled as the venom tore into his system, weakening him.

"FURY CLAW!" With the other evil digimon distracted, Cougmon was able to recover, and slashed at the web trapping Komainumon, freeing him. The damage was done, however; There was a flash of light, and Arcanine and Leomon were left standing there.

"Thanks," Arcanine growled. "Leomon!"

Leomon reached out, plucked the silver needle that Arukenimon had hurled at them out of the air, and sent it right back at her. It buried itself in Arukenimon's torso, slamming her back into one of the control spires she had created and pinning her there. She howled as the pin was drawn into the spire, along with Arukenimon. Enraged, Lady Devimon charged, but was tackled by Paildramon. The two started fighting, the battle going up several meters, both flying upin an attempt to gain an advantage over the other.

Four humans made their way over. "Is that...Arukenimon," Davis gasped.

Ken nodded, then glanced at Jacob and Kristen. "Are you okay? Kari told us that you might be somewhere in this world."

"Kari," Kristen asked.

"That girl Josh ran into," Jacob, "Agumon told me about her. Maybe...mom? MOM!"

Kyle glanced at Arcanine. "Anything?"

Arcanine sniffed around for a second. "Back that way, Kyle." He indicated a large building in the distance.

"She went back for Josh." Jacob groaned.

"We'll all go," June said.

"No," Jacob shook his head. "This is our fight-"

"And we'll take all the help we can get," Kristen interrupted. "You are NOT pulling a Josh on me, got it?" Jacob sighed and nodded.

The spire, having partially consumed Arukenimon, exploded. Arukenimon staggered out, her body horribly twisted by the spire's power. She was back in her humanoid form, but it was charred and as big as her beast form now. The red trenchcoat was replaced with black armor, and a long silver needle extended from the black of her right hand. One swing of it sliced the spire next to her in half. "What have you done to me," she demanded, voice now an electronic wail. "I'll kill all of you!"

"DRAGON RAGE!"

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

The two attacks slammed into Arukenimon, but were ignored. "That can't be her digivolved form," Ken gasped. "Can it?"

"Change of plan." Jacob said. "You stall, we get Mom and Josh. Deal?" Kristen sighed, almost resigned.

"Sure, if you can get around," Davis answered. Arukenimon advanced, parts of her body seeming to fade in and out of sight. "Or through."

Two rainbow coloured arrows slammed into her, and a white figure shot overhead. Kan caught on first, recognising Angewomon. "Go, GO! We'll handle this one!" Jacob, Kristen and Cougmon ran after the angel as Leomon and Arcanine started attacking Arukenimon.

* * *

Gail tried to keep up with what was happening. First, Murmuxmon had tossed her aside like a rag doll, then threatened to kill her, or something. What did he say? "My dear, I applaud your courage. But sadly, you are of no use to me. Now those two, they are very handy as power sources. I just need to borrow them for a little while, do you mind? Oh, you do? Well, that's too bad." Yeah, that's about what he said. That she could keep up with. 

It was when the giant angel fired a pair of arrows into Murmuxmon, then landed so a smaller girl, about Kristen's age, hopped off and ran over to Josh. Kari, that was her name. That's when she just gave up trying to understand what was going on. She ran over, paradoxically worried about how well Josh knew this girl.

She was his mom, after all.

"Josh," Kari called, shaking the boy slightly; he had collapsed only seconds after threatening Murmuxmon. Agumon was still out cold, not having moved at all. "Josh? Josh!"

"K...Kari...?" Josh lifted his head up a bit. "Weak...can't focus."

"That thing did something to both of them," Gail explained. "We have to get him out of here." Kari nodded. Behind them, there were shouts as Angewomon called down attacks on an uncaring Murmuxmon, seeming to just take the attacks, neither attacking nor defending.

Gail grappled with her next decision. Finally, she sighed. "Michael too. He's too dangerous to leave here with that maniac. He said something about using him and Josh as batteries."

"Izzy's already called the police," Kari said. "But he left out the part about the alternate dimensions and digimon."

"Well, good then." Gail allowed herself to feel a bit better.

"And we found a place where you can live without Michael ever threatening you again," Kari added.

"One piece of good news at a time," Gail replied, waving her hand. "No!" She and Kari gasped as Murmuxmon, finally tiring of Angewomon's attacks, raised a hand and struck the angel down with a single bolt.

As she landed and de-evolved, Murmuxmon arched an eyebrow. "Well, you must be the infamous Gatomon I've heard so much about. So, why the switch to good? Evil is much more rewarding. As you've just experienced." He glanced at Kari. "And you must be the girl who was touched by the spirits of light. Hmm, I wonder how your energy will taste?" Cougmon landed on him, all claws and teeth. He was tossed off by an annoyed Murmuxmon. "This is getting tiresome."

"Yeah," Cougmon replied, "so why don't we just all go home, eh? Save me the trouble of roughing you up some more."

* * *

There was a flash as Arcanine and Leomon DNA digivolved back to Komainumon. Whatever Arukenimon had transformed into cackled, and, with a wave of her arms, summoned up two more control spires. They exploded and formed into weaker copies of herself, which immediately went after Kyle, June, Ken, and Davis. Komainumon immediately took on the two, while Arukenimon laughed, seemingly unwilling to launch her own attacks. 

Up above, Paildramon and Lady Devimon circled each other, both fatigued from the battle. Okay, Paildramon thought to himself, maybe we SHOULD have brought the other digidestined in. Angrily, he extended both of his wrist blades and charged.

"Rage getting the best of you, mutant?" Lady Devimon taunted. "Lady Arukenimon is now stronger than ever, thanks to your own ally's blunder! How do you hope to win?"

Paildramon blocked a swing, and pulled back. "With a little move I've been working on." His cannons swung back up. "Maybe you can critique it for us...DOUBLE HERO!" Paildramon glowed blue and green, then separated, Exveemon and Stingmon suddenly appearing and landing a blinding array of attacks on Lady Devimon. The two appeared seconds later, both still glowing with still-stored energy. "And here's the finisher," Exveemon said. "DRAGON STINGER!"

The next few seconds were hard for Lady Devimon to follow. Exveemon fired his V-Laser, but Stingmon seemed to fly right -into- the beam, following the beam in and absorbing some of its energy. Then, what was left of the beam struck her, followed by a pair of powered up energy blades courtesy of Stingmon. "Impossible." Lady Devimon muttered, falling to the ground, landing near Arukenimon. "A...Arukenimon...help me..." Sneasel moaned as she lost her evolution.

Arukenimon did nothing, save cackle again as Stingmon and Exveemon landed on her two clones. Then she moved in.

* * *

Jacob and Kristen made it to Gail's side just as Murmuxmon was dealing another energy blast to Cougmon and Gatomon, both of who were barely able to hang on. "Mom! Come on, let's get out of here," Kristen said. Then she saw Josh, and a few feet from him, Michael. Then Cougmon. "There are other digidestined outside, but they're not going to last long! I...eh?" She glanced at her digivice. It was pulsing faintly, as was Jacob's. "Mom, didn't you get a piece of this thing too?" 

Gail reached into a pocket, and pulled the third shard out. As she did, Cougmon was struck by another bolt and sent flying, changing back to Socramon as he landed. "Mom," Jacob urged. "Put your piece together with ours...I think they all plug together!"

Glancing back at Josh and Socramon, Gail leaned forward and touched her digivice to the other two. All three combined to create a small hexagonal object, the small screens on them all touching and glowing white.

Murmuxmon, Gatomon, and Kari didn't even have time to register the flash of light. A second later, a giant skeletal beast was standing between Murmuxmon and Kari. "Alright, that's MUCH better," Skullcheetahmon growled.

"I like it," Jacob said. Gail took advantage of the distraction to get Josh and drag him over to where Jacob and Kristen were. While Jacob watched, Kristen and Gail tried to wake Josh up.

"mmmm...Mom? Kristen," Josh whispered. "What happened? Why'm I so tired?"

"It'll be alright Josh," Gail said quietly. "Jacob, can you get Agumon?"

"Sure." Murmuxmon and the new digimon didn't move, each waiting for the other to make a move.

Then it happened. The skeletal digimon blurred, then dashed at Murmuxmon, spiny bone blades digging into the tattered clothing the undead digimon wore. Murmuxmon grunted, but didn't react. The attacker then spun, two missiles appearing on his back. "Skeletal Missiles," he roared, launching the rockets at Murmuxmon, who still didn't react.

The attacks splashed off a barrier just centimetres from Murmuxmon's body. "I permitted that as a demonstration of futility-"

"Ahhhh SHADDAP!" The skeletal digimon snarled. "Kamikaze Fireworks!" Bristling with energy, he fired off several energy duplicates of himself, all of which made multiple attacks on Murmuxmon, all with no effect. "What does it take to KILL you?"

"More than you have to offer, Skull Cheetahmon. Much more. Even if I hadn't absorbed all that wonderful energy, I'm still a Mega level digimon. You, while powerful, are only an Ultimate digimon. The power levels are quite different, you will agree."

"Says you," Skull Cheetahmon replied. "Way I see it, there's four of us in on this. And if the good-lookin' cat over there could hurt you, then so can I." As he spoke, the bone blades on his body all shifted, pointing forward. His tail snapped around, kicking up bits of dust and dirt. "Don't worry," he said in a lower voice to his partners. "I'll get you out of this." Three more blades sprouted out, one over his head, the other two swinging forward from the sides of his face. Two more missiles appeared, locking into place and igniting, but not launching.

"Oh, man...he's going JATO!" Jacob gasped. "GET DOWN!"

(JATO: Jet Assisted Take Off -ed.)

"GRIM REAPER!" Skull Cheetahmon, missiles roaring, shot forward, ploughing into Murmuxmon and, to the undead digimon's surprise, breaking through the shield, one of the blades punching into his torso. The two slammed into one of the coliseum walls, just as the two missiles were released from their launchers. There was an eardrum splitting explosion, and Skullcheetahmon flipped away, landing with catlike grace only a few meters away from the humans.

Murmuxmon staggered out of the crater, obviously wounded. "That. Hurt. GRASVESHUDDER!" A horde of skeletal digimon clawed their way out of the ground, attacking the humans. "You have cost me much of the power I have gained, fools. I will suffer no more." Some of the skeletons grabbed Michael, and dragged him off, while the others tried to grab the other humans. Gatomon, who had recovered, was keeping them away from Kari, while SkullCheetahmon was busy defending the Johannesens.

Jacob, carrying Agumon, kicked at one skeleton while making his way back to the rest of his family. "Josh? JOSH! WAKE UP! WAKE THE HELL UP NOW! WE NEED BIG RED!"

Josh's eyes snapped open. "Mom?"

* * *

June fell back as Arukenimon's arm slashed at her; the mutated digimon was now wildly attacking both human and digimon, murder in her eyes. "We need Imperialdramon!" 

Davis looked up from here he was pulling Veemon out of the ground. "Veemon's too weak! Fighting Lady Devimon took everything out of him. Ken?"

Ken glanced at Stingmon, still barely in the fight. "Not much better. I don't think we can even go back to Paildramon."

"So we do this the hard way," Leomon snarled, getting between June and Arukenimon, slashing at the attacker with his sword. "Though a miracle would be nice right now!"

Arukenimon tried to advance but stopped. It was hard to attack when a sword had just punched itself through her torso.

"Someone call for a miracle?" June blinked; she hadn't remembered seeing Kyle send Pyroangemon out. Then she saw that it wasn't her fiancée's second partner at all.

The attacking digimon had a faint resemblance to Pyroangemon, but was purely mechanical. Muted light glinted off of silver and gold wings. He held a massive two handed sword, and was just now drawing it out of Arukenimon. Stepping out from behind her, June could make out more details. Silver armor, with midnight blue accents. Oh, and a giant skeletal tiger with him. No, a cheetah. There were four people riding on the cheetah, no five...Kari! And Gatomon was in her arms. "We're leaving. Now," the angel commanded. Arukenimon hissed, then shimmered again, vanishing. Leaving a very confused Sneasel behind. With a hiss, she got to her feet, evolved to Lynxmon, and ran off.

**Pokemon World**

It was two days later, and Gail and her family had managed to locate a house. Jacob and Kristen were inside, already fighting over who got which room. Outside, Josh stood beside his mother and Kari, lost in thought. "What's wrong?"

"I feel...like I lost something," Josh replied. "I think Murmuxmon took something from me, but I don't know what. Or why I can't seem to get angry about it." He smiled a bit ruefully. "I never used to have that problem."

"Murmuxmon said that he wanted to drain the dark energy out of you." Kari walked over. "How are you doing?"

"Okay, all told." Gail admitted. "The house is lovely. And Jacob and Kristen seem to have accepted Socramon into their lives. They're not going to go off..."

Kari smiled at that. "Well, you do have a third of the digivice." Both laughed a bit at that. "What about you, Josh?"

"I want too, but...I'm sorry. I think I need to rest for a while. After-"

"You don't have to explain." Kari explained. "So, no sign of him?" There was no need to ask who Kari was referring to.

"No," Gail answered. "Murmuxmon took him. If we see him again..."

"We'll be here," replied Kari. "Just call us, promise?"

"Sure." Gail entered the house, already telling Jacob and Kristen to keep it down.

"One thing," Josh asked Kari. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you get involved?"

Kari smiled softly. "You needed help. And digidestined always help each other."

Josh smiled. "Thanks."

"You'd better get in there. You've got a new life ahead of you. Oh, Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me sometime?"

It was Josh's turn to finally smile. "Anytime." He went in, joining in the family shouting match. Socramon and Agumon could be heard inside too.

A pair of arms wrapped around Kari. "Is he alright," Izzy asked.

Kari relaxed slightly, leaning against Izzy. "Yeah. He'll be fine." A pause. "There's nothing between us."

"I know. Come on. We've got 5 minutes before Tai finds out I promised to escort you home." Both laughed and left the area.

* * *

Next episode No more messing around. Final five episodes of this series. Love, betrayal, shock, angst, and really big freakin' digivolutions. Next Episode?  
-'The Empress' 


	43. The Empress

"So, where will you go?" 

Scizor glanced at his former trainer. "Well, back to Shogun Geckomon's village. Never did settle that challenge Ninjamon issued. Then...well, Mewtwo said he could use some help settling into his new role, so I'll hook up with him. Someone has to show those other guardians how to fight."

Kyle laughed. "Can't think of anyone better." His face fell a bit. "I'll miss you."

"None of that now, I'll be around. Look, it's like you said before; I'm too powerful for a regular pokemon match now. I'm fighting Ultimate digimon. And..." Scizor sighed. "I hate this mystical sense garbage. But it feels right.

"Anyway, I'm not leaving right now. I'll stick around for a while until we get everything sorted out. How's Kari?"

"Better now." Kyle shuddered a bit, thinking of Kari's recount of her encounter with Josh's psychotic father. "She and Izzy went on a date, and Tai is, of course, following them."

The pokemon snickered at the image. "Listen, even after I'm gone...you need me, just call. I'll be there. And we both know that that little rodent Eevee's useless in a fight."

Eevee looked up from his nap. "Ah, go swat yourself, bug-boy." To Kyle: "Hey, weren't you getting together with June today?"

"Tomorrow," Kyle answered. "June said she had to go meet Yolei today."

Eevee's head slowly dipped back down. "Ah. Ken."

-  
Digicross TV series 'Endgame 1: Empress'  
--

-Dark Ocean

Demon looked at Arukenimon, curious about the unusual transformation she had undergone during the incident with Murmuxmon. The black-clad spider-woman had not spoken since her return, and had, instead, shimmered in and out of the small cube she was in. "Fascinating."

"Master?" Lady Devimon inquired.

"Arukenimon's ability to travel between the dimensions has been changed. Supercharged, if you will. She no longer exists solely on one plane, but is slowly shifting between all three. This...has possibilities."

-Real World

Yolei looked out over the river, resisting the urge to sigh. Beside her, Ken sat, looking about as nervous as she felt. For once, Yolei couldn't think of what to say. She really didn't want to blow this. She almost wished that Hawkmon had tagged along. "So..."

Ken looked up expectantly. He knew this wouldn't work...

"Hey," June said suddenly, seeming to appear between the two. Both Yolei and Ken jumped, then recovered.

Yolei looked at June a bit enviously. She'd been almost perpetually happy since Kyle had proposed to her. Well, why sugar coat it, she thought to herself. I'm jealous. Why can't I have Ken throwing himself at me? "So, June, what brings you here?"

"Oh, nothing. Hey, want to go to a movie?"

"Well..." Yolei stammered. "I mean, if you and Kyle are on a date," not that we are, Yolei thought.

"No, it's just me and you two. Come on, I know the perfect one for you two."

"Huh," Ken asked.

"We don't need a chaperone," Yolei insisted.

"Nope. But you do need a...romantic motivator."

I'm going to kill her, Yolei thought to herself as June led her and Ken down the road.

-Pokemon World

Kari and Izzy stepped out of the Johannesen household, Josh following them. "Listen, just-"

"Josh," Kari sighed. "If you thank us again, I'm going to have to ask Tentomon to shoot you."

Josh's partner Agumon blinked. "Izzy? I thought Tentomon was your digimon partner."

Izzy shook his head. "I've been reduced to borrowing him from Kari. Sad, really, he used to be such a loyal digimon too." Beside him, Tentomonpointedly said nothing, while Kari wastrying not to giggle too loudly. "So, what will you do now?"

Josh sighed, temporary supply of good humour running out. "I don't know. We're all just settling in," he didn't add that he, and his mother, had both done a lot of screaming those first few days as the enormity of the move had started to sink in. "Kristen wants to go out and try her hand at pokemon training, so does Jacob...Me, I'm just tired. Tired and a bit empty, you know?"

Kari nodded. "Yeah, a little. And like I said before, if you need anything, just ask, alright?"

"Yeah."

-Dark Ocean

"Arukenimon," Demon said to the black-clad digimon. "It is time. Go now and capture the one I have spoken of."

Back in her original pokemon form, Sneasel listened intently as Demon gave Arukenimon her orders. Why them, she wondered. One made sense, but the other one.

Why June, she wondered.

-Real World

June led Yolei and Ken out of the theatre. Despite herself, Yolei had enjoyed the movie, as had Ken. Remarkably, Yolei thought to herself, June hadn't said a lot, sitting a few seats away while 'arranging' for Ken and Yolei to be seated together. "So?"

Yolei sighed. "Alright, I had fun."

"S...so did I." Ken added. "Thanks."

"Well, that's good then. So, double date on Saturday?" June tried not to laugh as Ken and Yolei both face-faulted. "Come on, we can't lose the momentum now, can we?"

"But...I have a test on Monday," Ken protested.

"What, a test is more important than me," Yolei demanded, blushing a second later.

"No, not at all," Ken replied automatically. "You're not helping, you know." Ken added a glare at June for effect. June was too busy laughing to notice it.

The three walked on, Yolei (eventually) forgiving June and starting up some pointless chatter; even Ken got involved. Which was good. Kari had confided to June (and had put her up to this whole stunt) that those two were taking far too long to go out on an actual date and do something aside from sit beside each other and look embarrassed. Sora (Who was out with Tai today) agreed, and seconded Kari's plan to have June intervene in the stalled romance. "Hey, June?"

June glanced at Yolei. "Yeah?"

"After all this is over...I mean, once we beat Demon and save the Digital World, what will you do? Aside from marrying Kyle?"

June smiled a bit. "Well...Originally, I was going to study psychology, but I read a book and it's so..."

"Boring," Ken suggested. "I...I saw a few psychologists once. I wasn't impressed." Yolei gave Ken's hand a slight squeeze.

"Yeah." June said after a minute. "But, well...I'm going to become a Gym Leader."

Ken and Yolei stopped. "You...you're...a GYM LEADER?" Yolei boggled.

June laughed. "Not now, silly. I need to finish school, move to Stone Town, get a trainer's license, become the greatest pokemon trainer ever, marry Kyle..."

"So, you're going to move to Kyle's world, then," Ken asked.

"Yeah. I mean, it's beautiful there. The air's clean, and kids can walk around the countryside without having to worry about some maniac grabbing them." June sighed. "It'd be a nice place to raise a family." Yolei stammered a reply. "What about you?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm going to start my own business." Yolei got a bit of her confidence back. "I am a genius with computers after all, and I should share my gift with the world."

"Weird," Ken said. "I had the same dream."

"Oh. Well...Alright, we'll go into business together," Yolei stated confidently. Then, her nerves slipped. "I mean, if you want to."

Caught off guard, Ken's reply was a bit more forceful than he'd intended. "Yes!"

Yolei was about to ask about Ken's tone when the digimon appeared. She had about a second to get irritated at Hawkmon and the other digimon for following her, then thanked heaven as the evil digimon appeared and started wrecking everything.

-Pokemon World

Kyle looked up. He stood, not saying anything.

Scizor stopped, mid-comment, and also stood. He caught Kyle's expression and, in perfect time with his former trainer, took off for the nearest Digiport.

Izzy had come close to tearing his hair out about this in the past; Everyone knew that DNA partners had some sort of link; however, the link between Kyle and June could, on occasion, reach levels that Mimi had once called 'creepy.'

-Real World

Aquilamon roared, launching another set of blast rings at Metal Devidramon, while Stingmon and Leomon double teamed Lady Devimon.

It was going well until Demon himself showed up...

-15 minutes later

All the nearby portals had been blocked off. Even so, Kyle and Davis had made it first. No one was surprised by that; after all, June was involved.

The two looked around at the devastation, both silent. Minutes later, the other digidestined started to arrive. "What happened," TK whispered, awe-struck.

The road had been torn apart, little more than fragments of asphalt left. The shops and stores surrounding the road were all ruined; there were a few ominous creaks and some crashes as support columns, damaged beyond repair, finally gave out.

Growlithe and Gabumon were sniffing around the wreckage. "Three digimon," Growlithe said. "Metal Devidramon, Lady Devimon, and..." The pokemon trailed off as recognition hit him.

Gabumon answered. "Demon."

"But I thought Demon couldn't leave the Dark Ocean," Cody gasped.

"He can, for short periods of time," Izzy answered. Beside him, Kari shivered, remembering her encounter with Demon.

TK stepped forward. "Was..." He couldn't continue.

"He has her," Kyle growled, making TK start at the pure rage in his voice.

"And we're getting her back," Davis echoed, matching Kyle's tone.

"Ken and Yolei were here too," Growlithe called.

There were no jokes. "Then we'd better get going." Kyle took out his D-3 and started searching for the nearest terminal.

-Dark Ocean

Demon glanced at the three humans and three digimon. "Ah, Ken Ichijouji. And you brought friends, how delightful. Now, whatever should I do with you?"

"Let them go," Ken snarled. "It's this thing in me you want, isn't it?"

"Yes. And no."

-Primary Village

"ANOTHER portal to the Dark Ocean?" Gennai stared at the assembled digidestined. Specifically, the entire Japanese contingent, plus Kyle, and less Ken, Yolei, and June.

TK interrupted Davis before he could say something they'd all regret. "They just came and took them. Lady Devimon, Metal Devidramon, and Demon himself."

"We know," Gennai said, voice suddenly deepening. Abruptly, he vanished, and the sky above Primary Village lit up.

Azulongmon came down, snakelike body coiling up into the sky. He regarded the digidestined quietly for a moment, then spoke. "We sensed Demon's passage through the digital barriers separating the Dark Ocean from the Digital World."

Kari looked at the dragon. "By we, you mean the other guardians as well."

"Yes. What he did was unprecedented. Normally, when Demon leaves the Dark Ocean, his power is reduced drastically. Which is why he went to such lengths to recruit Sneasel and Larvitar, as well as Arukenimon. All three of them have the ability to traverse the barriers between the dimensions with no loss of power. Now, however, something has changed."

"Arukenimon," Kari said. "She changed during that fight we had when we were rescuing Josh."

"Yes. Her power has grown. In a way, she is now a walking, sentient Digiport now."

Even through Kyle's emotional state, that got through. "You mean, Demon could use her to show up anywhere?"

With a faint shimmer of air, Mewtwo appeared in the midst of the digidestined. "Yes. I sensed that the process of her transformation has destroyed her mind. She must be stopped before her actions destroy the barriers between the worlds."

"Let me guess," Tai sighed, "that's bad."

"The multiple realities would all coalesce and reduce each other to nothingness. So yes, that would be bad, as you put it," Mewtwo replied evenly.

-Dark Ocean

Davis and Kyle were through first, ExVeemon, Pyroangemon, and Arcanine at the ready. "They probably know we're here," Exveemon grunted.

"Good. It'll save introductions." Arcanine smiled grimly as the other digidestined appeared, all with champion level digimon. "Plan?"

"Save June, Ken, and Yolei," Kyle answered.

"And Demon's troops," Gatomon asked.

"Bury them," Davis replied. "Let's go. You ready?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. Just had to get a few things from home."

-Demon's Castle

"Ah, we have guests. Metal Devidramon, Lady Devimon, please, show them our first surprise. And don't forget our special...equipment." Metal Devidramon nodded, taking two large black crystals with him.

After the two had left, Demon turned to look at the third figure, staring defiantly back at him. "And you, young lady...I have special plans for you."

"Let me go!" June shouted. She glanced at Elecmon, unconscious beside her.

"Oh, I will. Eventually." Demon grinned under his hood as his hand reached out, holding a small black sphere. "Your fiancée refused this gift of mine. Perhaps you'll be more receptive."

-Dark Ocean

His friends were captured, and Demon was probably trying to turn Ken back into the Digimon Emperor. Despite this (mistaken) assumption, Tai felt a rush of excitement. He'd missed doing this!

"Careful," Matt whispered. "We're not the strong ones anymore." He watched, a bit envious, as his little brother and Cody's digimon DNA digivolved to Shakouomon. "Omnimon would be handy right now."

"The Guardians are still recovering from the last battles, and from the effort of restoring the digital world," Gabumon explained. "They didn't have the power to spare, this time."

"Well," Agumon cut in, "Sora and Phoenixmon can always come to our rescue. If Tai doesn't mind too much."

Tai glanced at Sora, blushing slightly as she overheard Agumon's comment. "You know, Agumon, I wouldn't mind that at all." Coming to a decision, he strode over to his girlfriend. "Sora?"

"Tai, please, I don't want-"

"No, listen. Just promise me, if something goes wrong-"

"Tai, stop-"

"Sora," Tai hissed, stopping her. "Just promise me that you'll get Davis and Kyle out of there, alright?" At her confused look, she went on. "We both know that I won't be the one to sail in and be the hero this time, it'll be them. And...this doesn't feel right, y'know?"

Reluctantly, Sora nodded. "Yeah, I know. Especially Kyle. But what about you?"

"I'll be fine," Tai promised. "You know me."

"Yeah, that's why I'm worried." Tai laughed a bit at Sora's joke, hugged her, and headed back over to Matt, who was making gagging motions.

-10 minutes later

The first wave was mostly champion and the odd ultimate level digimon, all of them control spire created. The digidestined had not wasted any time, digivolving their partners to the champion level as soon as the fight started. As expected, Davis and Kyle showed the most ferocity, shards of black stone flying as Arcanine and ExVeemon tore through the Dark Ocean ranks.

Somewhat impressed, Lady Devimon watched the spectacle. "Well, shall we present Demon's surprise?"

"A moment, Lady Devimon." Metal Devidramon, incredibly, hesitated before charging into battle. "He will betray us, you know. I do not know what Demon has planned, but I do know that he will sacrifice us if he needs to."

The dark angel grinned. "Another rebellion, Metal Devidramon? Don't bore me." She flew down.

Metal Devidramon shook his head. "Arrogant fool." He had overheard a bit of Demon's plans, the dark overlord taunting him during his punishment. He knew now why Demon had wanted a digidestined on his side. Taking over the digital world was just a cover. Demon's true goal...

Demon wanted it all.

-

"Now what," Joe wondered, watching as Lady Devimon and Metal Devidramon, both carrying something, flew towards the battle. "With our luck, it's a bomb."

"Nahh," Ikkakumon grunted as he speared another Tyrannomon. "That'd be too simple. It's probably another giant digimon that's even stronger than Imperialdramon was."

"I thought I was supposed to be the pessimist," Joe shot back, then returned to watching. The two evil digimon landed, and were planting something in the ground. "If those are control spires, we'd better pull Tai and the others back." he warned.

"No," Gatomon said, trying to make out what was going on behind the lines. "It doesn't feel like a control spire." Abruptly, the attacking digimon pulled back. "Now what?"

Lady Devimon finished placing the two objects on the field, then stepped back. Above her, Metal Devidramon roared, and released some of his power into the objects. They started to grow, re-forming into control spires.

"Weird, I don't feel any weaker," Ikkakumon said, "In fact, I...no!"

"What," Joe asked, glancing at the spires. Then he saw it too. Shock spread among the ranks of the digidestined as they saw what was partially embedded in the spires.

Ken and Yolei.

Two digimon were standing by the spires. Slowly, Hawkmon and Wormmon advanced, ignoring the calls from their friends. Then they glowed and digivolved. Behind them, Lady Devimon cackled madly, revelling in the horror the digidestined were showing. "Now, attack Chaos Stingmon and Chaos Aquilamon!" The two mind controlled digimon surged ahead, aiming for Kyle and Davis.

Greymon and Ikkakumon intercepted the attack. "Go get June!" Tai roared. "We'll take care of Ken and Yolei!"

"But-" Davis protested.

"GO," Matt shouted. "Sora, you too!"

"Matt?"

"They're using Ken and Yolei as shields to guard the spires. If you cut loose with Phoenixmon..." Sora nodded. "Relax. This calls for precision. Which Mimi and I have covered." Mimi, a short distance away, waved. "Now get going!"

Sora nodded again. "Right."

-

The blind run to Demon's fortress was, compared to the mass battle the other digidestined were facing, fairly simple; Arcanine and ExVeemon tore through anything that came up. Sora, riding Birdramon, started to wonder if this wasn't a trap. She gasped as Arcanine tore -through- a charging Mammothmon, Kyle holding onto the giant pokemon's mane like an obsessed knight charging into battle. Davis and his partner were the same, demolishing a Knightmon that got in their way. It all went too fast for Sora to keep up with.

Another Devimon, two Ebidramon, a wall, and the three were inside the fortress. "June? JUNE!" Kyle looked around, yelling.

Davis checked his D-3. "She's nearby; right ahead of us!" He and ExVeemon took off. Sora started to call a warning when the door exploded and Demon stepped out. "All this fuss? Why, I have guests! And me without a proper welcome."

"Where's my sister," Davis growled.

"Give her back, and we'll make it quick." Arcanine emphasised his threat up with a lick of flames from his mouth.

"Oh? No, return her or else," Demon mocked.

Kyle answered. "'Else' implies a choice. Where-" He got as far as 'Wh' before the ground exploded as a lion's head shaped energy blast struck the ground in front of Arcanine, throwing Kyle off the pokemon's back.

"I suppose I cannot refuse such a dire threat. Please, here is your beloved June back. And I'll throw in her digimon as a...bonus."

Leomon stepped forward, dark yellow fur replaced by gray and black. His eyes were white, and black energy crackled around his fist. At his back was a long, wicked looking naginata, hung diagonally, blade over his left shoulder.

Beside him was June, Kyle's one true love and Davis' sister. Clad in a variant on Ken's Digimon Emperor outfit. Her eyes were obscured by the indigo goggles, the cruel set of her mouth the only clue to her intentions.

Demon stepped aside, letting the two advance on the digidestined. "Please, play among yourselves."

Next Episode.  
-The Digital World falls  
-Kyle makes the hardest decision he has ever had to make

Digimon Digicross -'Guardian Ascendant'


	44. Guardian Ascendant

Greymon reeled back as two more Devidramon piled into him. The other digidestined were having similar troubles, as they were all being overpowered by artificial digimon. Even the children were hard-pressed as In-training and Rookie digimon made grabs at them. 

TK tried to yell for help as a Sukamon tried to sit on him. Matt was fighting off an Alraumon, everyone else was too far away, Shakkouomon was tied up fighting four Gesomon. What a stupid way to die, TK thought. Sat on by a Sukamon. Tai would laugh.

"SHINING NAIL!" The Sukamon was thrown off by a bright blast of energy. Looking up, TK saw a digimon he recognized. And with him..."Strabimon? Crystal?"

"You could have waited!" Around them, other digidestined showed up, relieving some of the pressure. Despite her tone, Crystal smiled and offered TK her hand.

We just might win this, TK amended as Crystal helped him up. I just hope Kyle, Davis, and Sora are doing OK. There were more shouts; Agnimon, Wolfmon, and Cyberdramon lit up the battlefield, taking some of the pressure off of the Japanese digidestined.

Unnoticed by any of the children, Metal Devidramon pulled away from the fighting, and sped back to the castle.

-  
Digimon Digicross Episode 43 'Guardian Ascendant'  
-

Sora tried to step forward, to say something, but found herself blocked, trapped behind an invisible force field. She hammered on it, as did Biyomon beside her. Kyle glanced back, frowned, and nodded, then returned to the progressively worsening situation.

At least, Sora told herself, it's not tentacles. That'd be overkill.

During this, Demon stepped back, savoring the reactions of the invading humans. "Well, I have worlds to conquer. June, don't take too long, remember."

A pause. "Of course, Master Demon."

The words hit Kyle like a knife in the gut. "June...how?"

"He put one of those Dark Spores in her like he did Ken," Davis snarled. "ExVeemon, tear him a new one!" ExVeemon shot forward, bellowing a wild battle cry. However, he was slammed to the ground by a well-timed swing from Chaos Leomon's naginata. The enslaved digimon then slammed his foot down on the dragon digimon's back, never taking his eyes off of Arcanine. "Let him go, Leomon! You don't work for that creep!"

"Yes he does," Demon replied. "Right, my dear?"

Another pause. "Yes." June smirked. "Come on, lover. Come and...talk to me."

Kyle stepped back, almost sickened by what he was seeing. "June, Demon's controlling you. Snap out of it!" To Arcanine, he said "GO! EXTREME SPEED!" The pokemon rammed into Leomon, freeing ExVeemon, who got up. "Now, Arcanine! Finish Leomon off with Fire Blast!"

Davis had about half a second to gasp before Arcanine's attack launched, blasting Chaos Leomon and flooding the room they were in with light.

-

Seth shook his head. "You guys always go running off without backup?"

Joe groaned, glancing over his shoulder to see Ikkakumon and Cyberdramon holding off three Gesomon and a Baromon. "Actually, we are the backup. The real fight's in Demon's castle. Fortress. Whatever."

"Lovely. HEY, RYO!"

Ryo, torn three ways (watching Agnimon fight, checking on Matt (who was watching Stuart help Mimi up), and trying to keep Caryl from drawing even more evil digimon to them), glanced at Seth. "WHAT?"

"CASTLE!"

"On it! Caryl? We gotta free Ken and Yolei now!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

"YOU?" Agnimon yelled at Caryl. "I'm doing the fighting here!" Caryl stuck her tongue out at the DNA digimon. "Umm...why are you smiling?"

Caryl's grin widened. "'Cause I'm smart. Now, Aerodactyl!"

A bone-chilling roar cut through the battlefield. As the digidestined watched, the spires holding Ken and Yolei crumbled and collapsed. Aerodactyl flew in, Kyle Evanick and Casey catching Ken and Yolei.

"You...you had them sneak around and attack the spires while everyone else was busy fighting," Ryo gasped.

"Told you I was smart." She gulped as two flying digimon dove at her pokemon, then sighed as Pyroangemon, ordered to stay behind and help the others by Kyle, covered his retreat. "That's no fair. Kyle gets all the cool digimon."

"Hey, I'm cool!" Agnimon spin-kicked the second Gesomon into oblivion. "Both of us are!"

"Yeah, but Kyle's got an ANGEL! Ryoooo, are there any angel pokemon?" As they argued, Pyroangemon seemed to stop, look at the castle, and make a beeline for it. Seconds later, a red streak followed him, blasting Lady Devimon out of its path.

Stingmon and Aquilamon, still under the effects of Demon's mind control, fought on, rallying the Dark Ocean soldiers around them.

Watching the two former allies attack, Tai came to a decision. "Greymon, DIGIVOLVE," he cried, holding up his digivice.

"Greymon, digivolve to...Metal Greymon!" Around the battlefield, the other digidestined followed Tai's example, and were soon forcing the still-growing horde back.

-

Arcanine and ExVeemon were hurled away by Chaos Leomon's attack. Boosted by the addition of Demon's own power, June's digimon was now more than a match for his two opponents. Still...

"Davis." Kyle hissed, "I don't think-"

"Yeah, it's like a bad ventriloquist act," Davis replied. "June, we know Demon's pulling the strings! So cut 'em already and get over here!"

The whip sailed out and almost struck Davis, the snap by his ear sounding like a gunshot. "Over there? With YOU? I HATE YOU!"

Davis stepped back, not believing what he was hearing. "What?" Then, he smiled. "Right. Funny, June. That's just that thing Demon put in you talking..."

"Keep telling yourself that. I've ALWAYS resented you. You were dumber!" Another crack, this one grazing Davis' leg. "More stubborn!" A gash on Davis' face. "Slower!" One of the lenses on his goggles exploded. Davis fell backwards at the physical and verbal assault. "And a LIAR! How long were you planning to keep this from me, little brother?" Kyle stepped forward, trying to stop her; he was wrapped in greenish-grey electricity, and collapsed. "I've got something else in mind for you, lover boy," June whispered evilly. "And you had to drag poor, gullible, naive Kyle into your little web of lies. What, afraid Dad would take your digivice away? Or that I might screw up your chances with that little brat Kari? I guess the whole 'Imitate Tai' bit was just some way to impress her, eh?"

That got Davis' anger up. With a roar, he charged forward, ignoring Kyle's yell of warning. He took three steps before Chaos Leomon's Shadow Fist exploded. Amazingly, he wasn't hurled back. He just stood there for a second, dazed, and fell over, knocked out. A second blast put paid to ExVeemon, knocking him back to Veemon. "And for you, lover boy..." June advanced on Kyle, whip unfurled, dragging on the ground. "What shall I do with you?"

"Duck for starters. ARCANINE!" On command, the massive pokemon roared and fired a blast of flame, not at Chaos Leomon or June, but past Kyle, impacting and destroying the field holding Sora and Biyomon back. "NOW!"

"Spiral Twister!" The green tornado shot out and struck June, sending her flying. Sora winced; she didn't dare digivolve Biyomon; Chaos Leomon might be able to survive a Meteor Wing, but not the human he was partnered with. But with June clear of the battlefield...

Arcanine snarled, and tackled Chaos Leomon, both warriors snarling and clawing at each other. Arcanine's proximity prevented the leonine digimon fron using his pole arm, or his ranged attack; similarly, Arcanine was too close to use his fire attacks. So the two beasts wrestled, for lack of a better term. It was more visceral, fiercer than anything two humans were capable of.

Then a huger black hand picked up Arcanine by the scruff of the neck and hurled him aside. Metal Devidramon strode into view, regarding the attacking digidestined. "Pathetic. RED EYE!" The red beam of energy cut across the floor tracking towards Sora and Biyomon, both of whom dove out of the way. "Any last words?"

The wall exploded; Pyroangemon, already on fire and screaming, shot at Metal Devidramon. The red energy beam stabbed out again, striking the angel's shield and destroying it. Pyroangemon continued on, tackling and driving Metal Devidramon through the door Demon had stepped through.

"You...you are the ones that will be beaten," June croaked. "Leomon...DESTROY THEM ALL!"

Body crackling, Leomon strode forward and changed. It wasn't the normal process of digivolution. It was more like someone had taken Leomon through a computer morphing program. He was now a large black and white lion with huge front fangs.

"Saber Leomon," Sora gasped, remembering Mimi's description. "Kyle, Arcanine, he's a Mega level digimon now!" Off to her left, Growlithe, semiconcious, staggered to his feet. On reflex, Kyle recalled the pokemon into his pokeball. Somewhere in the background, there was a colossal fight between Pyroangemon and Metal Devidramon. Sora wanted to digivolve Biyomon, but couldn't; Phoenixmon was too large to be able to fight effectively in these closed quarters; plus the least of her attacks would incinerate everyone in the castle, if she wasn't careful. And she could feel Demon somewhere in the area.

-

Outside, Scizor flew around the castle, looking for the quickest way in. He had no idea where Demon was, or if he could take him, strong as he was. No matter. He had to save them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lady Devimon's black wave of energy streaked in front of the pokemon.

"Through you." With a snarl, Scizor flew at Lady Devimon.

-

With a flash, Shiryumon appeared and added his own serpentine strength to the battle, teaming up with Seadramon to take down as many of the Control Spire created digimon as possible. Edward, Crystal, and Melody hung back, Crystal calliong out Misdreavus and Rapidash to help keep attackers away from the humans. Several of Ryo's stronger pokemon joined in.

"This is getting us nowhere," Mimi gasped as Lillymon blasted another opponent; the shockwave from the blast knocked her over. "Thanks," she said as Stuart offered her a hand up. Stuart stammered a reply as Matt caught him with a glare, which turned into a sigh of relief as Matt's expression softened. Mimi snickered, calling "Matt, stop it! He's just trying to be polite! You could learn a thing or two from him!"

Tai ignored them, staring at the castle. "Sora, where are you?"

-

Okay, Davis thought to himself. Growlithe's down, Pyroangemon's busy with Metal Devidramon, Demon's somewhere in the background, Veemon's almost out of it, and Saber Leomon's about to eat us.

He glanced at Kyle, just coming to. Then at Sora. And a plan emerged. Crazy, reckless, but a plan. He cast his mind back on what he knew of Sora, all the times he'd met her. Quiet, loving, devoted to Tai, almost eternally patient. Kind of like Mom, but cooler. And a good friend. For a girl. "Veemon?"

"Ready," Veemon croaked.

"Alright. This is gonna be weird. But really cool if this works. SORA!"

Sora glanced at Davis, wondering what was going on. Then she gasped as she saw a small black and blue object flying towards Biyomon, just as Veemon started armour digivolving himself.

"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Flamedramon, the fire of Courage!"

"Biyomon, armour digivolve to...Unimon!" This Unimon was different from the ones Sora had seen before. She was bright red, a bit sleeker, the helmet was blue, and there were small pieces of armor on the legs and hooves that resembled metallic lightning bolts jutting out.

The two armor digimon charged at Saber Leomon; they were clearly outclassed by the mega digimon, but they used their smaller size and better agility to keep clear of his attacks. This went on for a full minute, the two digimon landing several blows on Saber Leomon, before Metal Devidramon flew through the hole he and Pyroangemon had made, slamming into Saber Leomon. June, angered by the sudden reversal, stepped back, digivice clutched in her hand. "Get up, Saber Leomon. GET UP!"

"It's over June," Davis called. "Give it up."

As he spoke, Pyroangemon staggered out of the hole. One arm hung limp at his side. His sword bit into the ground, the only thing keeping the angel standing. Sora noticed first that his mask had gone missing; Pyroangemon's face was pleasant, with sharp features. Bishounen, almost. Nothing like the viking-like visage she had once pictured. "That...that was easy enough," the angel said, falling to one knee. He groaned, became Eevee, and passed out. Sora ran over to Kyle, just now getting up, and recalled Eevee into his pokeball, passing the ball back to Kyle.

"It's not over yet." June held up her digivice, crackling with dark energy. "I will beat you, Davis."

"How," Davis challenged. "Saber Leomon's out, and he can't digivolve any further."

"Who said I was going to digivolve that failure?" Davis stepped back, suddenly realizing what she was talking about. "Metal Devidramon, DARK DIGIVOLVE!"

"Metal Devidramon, dark digivolve to...WAR DEVIDRAMON!" Stunned, War Devidramon hesitated, startled by this sudden transformation.

In an instant, Kyle sized up the situation, and knew what he had to do.

-

"Out of my WAY!" Scizor brought his claws down, striking Lady Devimon across the face. Injured, the fallen angel flew back, making several more strikes with her claws. "Rrr...I don't have time for this!"

"Then I'll kill you quickly, bug. DARKNESS WAVE!"

Scizor dove under the blast, and shot past Lady Devimon, making a wild dash for the castle. Lady Devimon started to follow then stopped as she sensed a massive surge of energy. Scizor continued down, ignoring the red and blue blur that left just ahead of the explosion. He was lost to view seconds later as the blast cloud encompassed him.

-

Everyone saw the blast; the digidestined assumed Demon had been defeated, and rallied, forcing the attacking monsters back. The wave broke, and the attackers retreated. Cody and Joe, helping Ken and Yolei recover, looked up to see Aquilamon finally get taken down as Angewomon and Lillymon forced him to revert to his rookie form, then shattered the control ring on him. Stingmon was stopped when Greymon, in a more direct mode of attack, threw Ankylomon at him. Getting a nearly flattened Wormmon';s control ring off was comparatively easy after that.

"You OK," Joe asked Yolei.

"Yeah...ohmigod, JUNE!" Yolei looked sick. "We have to stop Demon, he's-" She glanced at Ken, who was, now that he remembered what had happened, on the verge of passing out.

Matt pointed at the incoming figures. "It's alright! Demon's castle blew up and..." Matt trailed off as he saw Sora on something that looked like Unimon, Davis, and Veemon. "Oh no."

Unimon landed, glowed, and reverted to Biyomon, the digiegg going back into Davis' D-Terminal. Sora nearly fell into Tai's arms, sobbing. "We...we were too late!"

Tai tried to ask what Sora meant, then saw what she was carrying.

Growlithe and Eevee's pokeballs.

-

War Devidramon, still a bit lightheaded from the rush of power, stood over Kyle's unconcious body. He should kill the boy, War Devidramon decided. Safer that way.

"Wait." June staggered to her feet, uniform slightly tattered. "He's mine."

"We should kill him now," War Devidramon stated. "This may be a trap." Kyle stirred. "Bah, I'll do it right now, I don't need your permission." He drew in some energy-

"STOP!" The command slammed into War Devidramon, halting him.

The massive digimon regarded June. "Perhaps 'Lord' Demon's conversion of you was not a success. Perhaps I should end both of your lives now. You humans seem to have a perverse attraction to this sort of end."

"Now, now War Devidramon," Demon said, walking into the ruined chamber. "After all that June did for you, granting you your new Mega form. I'm sure June has her reasons for wanting this," he indicated Kyle, "alive. Well, boy? Any heroic speeches? Defiant last words."

"...I surrender."

"I..." Had Demon's face been visible, the whole room would have been treated to seeing the overlord's startled expression. "You -surrender-?"

"I won't fight June. No matter what."

"Where is he!" Lady Devimon streaked into the room. "Scizor, he got into the castle!"

Demon extended his supernatural senses, scanning Kyle. No pokeballs. Digivice was dormant. Nothing. "Interesting. But he is not here."

"He can't have been destroyed...what happened to you?" Lady Devimon sized up War Devidramon, and then made the connection. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. With HER?"

"Shut up, ice-cat!"

"Make me, Larva-brain."

Demon ignored the byplay, staring at Kyle. He was, he admitted to himself, a bit confused.

-

"Kyle WHAT?" Tai shook his head, stunned at what Sora had just told the group.

Sora bowed her head. "He...he put Growlithe and Eevee's pokeballs in my hands, then told me to get Davis out of there. Then War Devidramon attacked and...Tai, I'm sorry!"

Tai calmed down, holding Sora. "It's alright. But why would Kyle...?"

"Because his place is with June." Davis looked back at the castle. "It's weird, but I'm not mad about it. I thought I would be, but..."

Kari smiled knowingly. "They love each other." Kari walked over to Ken. "Are you alright now?"

"No," Ken replied. "It's happening again, and-"

"It is NOT your fault." Yolei grabbed Ken by his shoulder, turning him around and forcing him to face her. "It wasn't your fault when you were turned into the Emperor, and it isn't June's."

"But-"

Yolei leaned forward, silencing Ken with a glare. "If I want to hear an apology, I'll go get Kyle. Got it? Now put a sock in it, we've got work to do."

TK nodded. "Davis is right. Kyle's probably counting on us to stop War Devidramon and Demon."

"Problem," Ryo pointed out, "is that our digimon are tired. I don't think we can take on two mega level digimon and June."

"Let's go then." Davis glanced at everyone. "We head back, make a plan, and save June."

"And Kyle," Melody added, smacking Davis on the back of his head.

"And Elecmon," Veemon said, junping up and adding his own hand imprint on the back of Davis' head.

"Ow, alright." Davis glared at Veemon, rubbing the back of his head. "But...why June? I mean, why not..."

"Why not what," Yolei demanded. "You'd rather KEN was left there? Shut up," this last was aimed at Ken, who was about to say something.

Davis backpedaled. "That didn't come out right."

"Actually, you do raise a good point, Davis," Izzy mused. "Ken, you were..." It was Izzy's turn to trail off as Yolei speared him with a glare.

"An emotional wreck, yeah," Ken completed. "June would be a lot harder to convert. But then, I wasn't given a lot of attention after becoming the Emperor."

"Demon was putting a lot of effort into controlling June." Veemon glanced at Davis, who nodded.

Sora also nodded. "There was a pause every time she spoke, like she was waiting for orders. Ken, did that ever happen to you?"

Ken shook his head. "No. When I had an idea, it was usually in a dream or just a sudden inspiration."

"I'm confused. I thought Mr. Oikawa gave Ken the Dark Spore."

"Yeah, but Demon was the one who created them." Kari sighed. "That might give us a chance."

"If I know June, yeah," Davis said confidently. "He'd have to be using a lot of power to control her." His expression darkened. "For a while, anyway."

-

A few minutes later, everyone was leaving. Plans had been made, the digidestined just needed some time to rest up and gather some needed things. The digimon needed to eat. Lots.

Tai saw Davis heading for his home. "Hey, Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"Sora told me what happened. Quick thinking, giving your digiegg to her. How did you pick the Digiegg of Friendship?"

"Well, Sora's just...well, she's a friend. She's cool. I mean, for a grown up and all."

Tai's eyes narrowed. "And just how good a 'friend' are we talking about, anyway?"

"Tai!" Sora stepped forward, grabbing Tai by the ear. "Honestly, they should give you the Digiegg of Jealousy!"

"I was just teasing," Tai protested as Sora dragged him off. Davis shook his head, and went back to coming up with a good explanation for what had happened.

"We'll get them back." Melody said, standing behind Davis. Davis turned around, startled. "I know we will."

"Divine inspiration?"

"You...I'm NOT a priestess!" She was about to say more when her digivice, and everyone else's across the worlds, went crazy.

-Dark Ocean

A black portal opened up just outside Demon's castle. Arukenimon stood in front of it, still twitching, parts of her vanishing and then reappearing. Bound and forced to his knees, Kyle watched June appear from the castle, Saber Leomon and War Devidramon escorting her to the gateway.

Demon followed a few steps behind them. "You may be wondering," he addressed Kyle, "why we're doing this. The answer, you see, is simple. We don't simply want to take over the Digital World and the other worlds connected to it."

War Devidramon's ears pricked up. From the shadows, Lady Devimon frowned, curious.

"What we wish to do is a little more ambitious. We wish to convert the Digital World into an extension of the Dark Ocean."

Kyle was unimpressed. "What does that have to do with June?"

"Oh, everything. Our original plan was to use the Control Spires to act as a massive antenna and flood the Digital World with the Dark Ocean's essence. Which is why we recruited a friend of yours. One Ken Ichijouji. Oh, that fool Myotismon thought he was being clever, thinking Ken was his ticket to go back to the digital world and take over. The fool never realized he was doing my bidding. Of course, I had to destroy him; I do so detest incompetence.

"And then I thought I could corrupt the delightful Kari Kamiya; the bearer of the Light crest would speed my own work immensely. But you interfered. And then this happened." He gestured at Arukenimon. "Dear, dear Arukenimon. She's quite mad now, her mind blasted by her immersion in a Control Spire." Lady Devimon stiffened. "And then I find your fiancee, June. Quite the charmer, she fought to the bitter end. Love really is a weakness, you should learn to do without."

"Your point?"

Demon grinned under his hood. "I see she has rubbed off on you, Kyle. Arukenimon, you see, is now a walking digital gateway. Thoroughly unique. So, I will have our new Empress open a digiport. The strain should kill Arukenimon, of course, but some sacrifices are necessary." Unnoticed, Lady Devimon shivered a bit, for what reason she couldn't fathom.

"The Digital World is huge," Kyle protested. "There's not enough of her to go around."

"You'd be surprised. June, or rather, my Empress, if you please?"

Kyle watched as June stepped forward, D-3 out and energized. She stood behind Arukenimon, who herself was almost inside the portal. "Di...Digi..." June started to shake. For a wild instant, Kyle though she might break free, then it passed. For a brief second, he knew of one other way to stop her, and tried to bring himself to do it. She'd understand, he told himself. Her or the world, easy choice.

"Digiport Open!" The beam from June's digivice shot through Arukenimon, who was pulled into the beam.

As Kyle sank down, he marveled how easy the choice was.

"Davis. I'm sorry. It's up to you now."

-Digital World

Primary Village was crowded, virtually every digimon in the area having been drawn towards it by a certain psychic call. Demands of what was going on rumbled through the throng, which continued to grow.

Mewtwo glanced upwards. "Guardians, we must act now! I fear-" He stopped, and pitched over, falling in a heap on top of several digimon. "No, not yet. I will not permit it." He levitated up, aura flaring up.

"Mewtwo, be careful!" Azulongmon floated down, adding his energy to Mewtwo's. The pokemon did not reply, all his concentration focussed on the massive task at hand.

The Desiny Stone under Primary Village appeared -above- Mewtwo. Then, with a terrific shrieking noise, the other Destiny stones dragged themselves towards the village, taking every digimon with them. Only inches ahead of a wall of darkness.

"The Dark Ocean!" Zhuquiamon gasped, hovering beside Azulongmon. "They've won."

"Not yet." Azulongmon regarded Mewtwo, blinking as a tiger-shaped ghost appreaded behind the pokemon, glanced at the dragon, and nodded. "It's not over yet. Come. We must move."

-Pallet Town, Kanto Region

It had been a horrendous battle. Pikachu was still a little unsteady after all this time, a testament to the amount of power he had thrown against the Johto Region's defending champion. Ash scratched his friend's head between his ears, relaxing as small zaps of static electricity tickled his fingertips. Somehow, that simple action crystallized the thoughts he had about his future. He'd won, but it had been a very close win. Too close, in fact.(1)

He, Misty, and Brock had returned to Pallet Town to recover. Besides, Misty had recieved a mysterious call from her sisters. And Ash was finding it increasingly hard to say no to the Cerulean Gym leader...

"So, what now," Misty asked. "Follow Gary to the Houen region?" Gary had, a week after the Johto matches had finished, announced that he would be leaving the field of pokemon battles and start doing research instead. The three had stepped outside of Professor Oak's lab, needing a bit of air and calm after the rather noisy 'welcome back' party Ash's mother had insisted on throwing for him.

"Well-" Ash started, then stopped. "What is THAT?" Misty, then Brock, stared up at the sky, which had turned orange.

Above the three, small blue lights appeared. A few at first, small. Then bigger. Then it got truly, freakingly, HUGE!

Brock saw it first. "Rayquaza?" He pointed at a giant serpentine figure floating in the sky.

Mewtwo appeared in front of them. "I need your help."

"Mewtwo," Ash gasped. He stopped. Mewtwo seemed different since he'd last seen him.

"No longer. I am the Guardian of the Western Realm of the Digital World. And now, we need all its defenders." There was no hesitation or doubt in Mewtwo's voice or thought. Now, the pokemon realized, he had truly accepted his role as Guardian, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to defend his part of the Digital World.

Or win it back, in this case. "This world has seen several of it's residents become digidestined. They will be needed."

Misty shivered a bit as Mewtwo took that opportunity to look right at her. "Who, me?"

Next Episode:  
-Kyle's plan revealed  
-Lady Devimon's fate  
-The Digital World under Demon's Control  
-A world suffused in digimon.

Digimon Digicross: Empress' Fall.

(1)Note: Yes, this is a change from the canon Pokemon series.


	45. Empress' Fall

Digimon: Digicross When Kyle first came to the Digital World, he was a little bit in awe of how beautiful parts of it were. Massive forests, beaches, it was almost like his home, with all sorts of new creatures to encounter. Even the occasional blight, specifically control spires, was easily handled. 

Now, as he was tossed roughly through the digiport from the Dark Ocean to just outside Primary Village, he winced as he saw the devastation. Everything now was shades of grey and dull black. Structures he once knew now had small spider webs reaching from them to the ground and other nearby buildings. There were no digimon visible. Appearing just behind him was one of the architects of this disaster.

June Motomiya, now the mind-controlled slave of Demon thanks to the Dark Spore implanted in her, smiled darkly as she surveyed the wasteland. "So, looks like someone took all the digimon. I suppose you'll just have to do as Demon's slave for now." Abruptly, her face twisted into a glare. "Where are they? Who took them all, was it Mewtwo? Azulongmon?"

"I don't know." Kyle stared straight ahead, unwilling to look at what had become of his fiancée.

Snarling, June grabbed Kyle by his collar and dragged him to his feet. "That won't work on me! WHERE ARE THEY?" When he failed to respond, she reversed her grip, and half-led, half-dragged him down the hill into the area that used to be Primary Village. "There used to be digimon and a Destiny Stone here. Demon has the other seven, where is the one HERE?"

Still no answer. "You're pathetic. At least TRY to fight me!"

"I will never fight you, June. But I will not help you in this." His next words were lost as June electrocuted him, bolts of bluish-grey electricity crackling through the whip that suddenly wrapped around his throat.

"Shut up."

"I…I know you won't forgive me when we get you back…"

"SHUT UP!"

--Pokemon World

Mewtwo's plan of bringing all the digimon in the Digital World to the Pokemon world was the best one any of the Guardians had been able to come up with. The environment was close enough to the Digital World, and the human population was less likely to call out massive military counter strikes when faced with an onslaught of unusual creatures that possessed unusual abilities and were capable of rapidly evolving their physical forms in response to external environmental stimuli.

This is not to say that everything was going smoothly. Despite the combined power of the four guardians, and Mewtwo's knowledge of his original home world, there were a few digimon that got misplaced in transit. Plus the fact that Mewtwo had created a warp, rather than spend time trying to open a digiport…

-Johto region:

"Hang on Marina, I'm coming!" Vincent yelled, tossing his cape off and leaping off the side of a hill to face the obviously threatening creature that was staring at the object of his affections.

This went as well as one would expect. He lost his balance as he was jumping, and landed in a heap in front of the Geckomon.

Marina massaged her head, accidentally knocking loose a lock of blue hair in the process. Ignoring Vincent, she turned to the other pokemon trainer with her. "So, Jimmy, what is it?" Beside her, a Misdreavus floated, keeping her eyes on the Geckomon.

"I don't know?" Jimmy replied, glancing at his Typhlosion, who shrugged helplessly.

"I told you, I'm a Geckomon, and I'm the chief singer of my village! Want a demonstration?"

-Goldenrod City

Toy Agumon looked down at the small furry creatures. "Umm…so, this is your place," he asked, looking at the massive stack of tires and other assorted detritus.

"Pichu?"

"Yes, your name is Pichu, we've established that. Is there any food I can eat, I'm kind of hungry?"

"Pichu?" The Pichu Brothers glanced at each other, confused by the strange pokemon.

"No. Food. Yummy." Toy Agumon mimed eating and rubbing his belly. A second later, the Pichu with the small tuft of fur on his head mimicked the action.

"Help…"

-Petalburg City, Houen Region

"Max, get away from that thing!"

"Come on, May, it's just a pokemon," the boy said, pointing at the somewhat disoriented Kabukimon. "I wonder if it's a grass type?"

"Umm, I think there's been some confusion…" Kabukimon started, making both Max and May jump.

-Kanto

"There, you see that?"

"Yeah, a whole bundle of pokemon I've never seen before showing up at Professor Oak's, and…hey, isn't that Mewtwo?"

"Yeah. And a big floating rock. The boss will pay us a bundle if we snag it." The second Rocket Grunt pointed at the Destiny Stone, currently hovering several meters over Professor Oak's house

"You will not be 'snagging' anything," said the Scyther that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He grinned, still exulting in the feeling of being so young again. And being able to add electricity to his normal attacks. "LIGHTNING BLADE!"

Maybe turning into a lime-green not-quite-a-Ledyba wasn't so bad, after all.

Davis and Matt watched as Scyther and a still somewhat confused Tracey Sketchum drove off the two members of Team Rocket. "He seems to be getting the hang of it," Matt said. "Gotta admit, that Scyther's a pretty intense pokemon."

"Heh. Imagine if Izzy had that Tentomon as a partner," Davis commented. Matt smirked, imagining the intellectual Izzy trying to keep a handle on a fight-happy Tentomon. As they watched, Scyther glowed for a second and went back to being a lime-green Tentomon. "Wonder what his Ultimate form would be?"

"Supaa Scizor," Matt answered, mocking Dragonball Z. Davis cracked up. Then, becoming serious, he asked "how's Kyle's dad taking all this?"

"Not so well," Matt replied. "Your folks?"

"I told them June's been captured, but not about…" he trailed off, not really comfortable with the idea of June being evil now.

"Yeah." Matt glanced over his shoulder, and saw Mr. Ellison and his mom together. Davis opened his mouth, but Matt clapped a hand over it. "Davis. This is serious, alright? Do NOT tell TK, alright?" Davis, puzzlement in his eyes, nodded slowly. Then more quickly, as Davis realized what Matt was talking about. "Look. Mom and Kyle's dad are, well…I know TK's cool with a lot of stuff, but I don't think he'd understand, alright? Certainly not at a time like this."

"Yeah…"

In Professor Oak's lab, Gennai was leaned over a table, deep in conference with Mewtwo, Professor Oak, and several of the digidestined. "So, what happened," Cody asked, straining to see over the top of the table. Smiling, Yolei helped him up onto a stool.

"As far as we can tell," Izzy replied, "When June opened a digiport from the Dark Ocean to the Digital World, Demon was able to broadcast something which was able to overlay the surface of the Digital World."

"Arukenimon," Mewtwo answered. "The entire Digital World is now covered by her psychic signature. Way too big to catch in a pokeball."

"Right," Izzy replied. "And now, this…veneer is starting to work its way through the Digital World's foundation, making it a part of the Dark Ocean. I guess that's why he wanted a digidestined under his control after all."

Kari shivered. "But why didn't he do this when he had Ken?"

Ken sighed. "You said that Arukenimon had changed during your rescue of Josh, right? That change must have altered Arukenimon's dimensional warping abilities to be able to allow this. She's probably serving the same purpose as the Control Spires did when I was the Emperor."

"And the Destiny Stones," Cody asked.

"Except for the one at Primary Village, all taken over." Izzy sighed. "Professor, will the digimon be safe here?"

"My research lab is large, but not enough to contain all the digimon here," Oak replied. "And I'm getting reports of digimon showing up all over the place. I've instructed the Gym Leaders that I trust, as well as the authorities, to try and steer trainers away from the areas we know that have digimon in them. But there's no way to keep track of them all." Oak glanced at Mewtwo. "No human way, at any rate."

"Indeed," the pokemon replied. "I have already set the Destiny Stone to emit a psychic wave. All digimon that do not have a human partner will be drawn to it. But there is still Team Rocket, as well as other…organizations that will want to capture some of the digimon while they are vulnerable."

Melody and Crystal entered the room. "My father just called," the shrine maiden said, "it looks like Zhuquiamon and Ebonwumon have taken up residence on two of the Legendary Islands."

"So far, the weather's kept trainers from reaching the islands, so the digimon there are safe," Crystal added. "Maybe we should add those islands to the safe list?"

"Agreed," Mewtwo replied, concentrating for a second. He frowned, and then opened his eyes. "We have another problem. It seems that some of the digimon that have appeared are partnering up with humans."

"Great, it's starting all over." Yolei sighed. "That's how Davis, Cody, and I became digidestined. And there's no time to organize them, or even get in touch with them."

"It's probably for the best," Cody spoke up. "At least if they have human partners, they'll be safe."

"We're going to have to rewrite the League rules. We can't have two War Greymons fighting it out for the Indigo League cup, they'd wreck the stadium. Again," Oak moaned, getting a small laugh out of everyone.

"I think Cody's right, though," Kari said, making the younger digidestined blush slightly. "We need to focus on getting the Digital World back. We'll have to deal with the digimon that have partners here later."

Gennai nodded. "As has already been said, the Destiny Stones, excepting the one here, have been corrupted by Demon; they form the foundation of the Digital World. I think that if we can get the Primary Village stone back where it belongs, we can clear the other Stones out without too much trouble. It is the strongest of Destiny Stone of them all. Has to be; how else could we draw all the digimon that have been defeated back to Primary Village to be reborn?"

"So, what do we do first," Cody asked, "save the Digital World, fight Demon, rescue Kyle, or free June?"

"June," Kari said. "We need Imperialdramon, or we won't have a chance against Demon, War Devidramon, or Lady Devimon."

"Hopefully, when we free June, Kyle will follow. Even with everything that's happened, I can't see June hurting Kyle." This time, Yolei shivered.

"She won't," Ken said softly. Seeing Kari's arched eyebrow, he went on. "Kari, remember when I captured Davis, when Yolei and Cody got their digieggs?"

"I did wonder why you clamped him to the side of the cliff," Cody said. "I thought you had just watched too may cartoons."

Ken smiled. "Yeah. Now that I think about it, I can see all the flaws and mistakes I made in my plans. Almost…"

"Like you wanted to be defeated," Izzy completed. "Yeah. So what you're saying is that there's still hope."

"Then we'd better get going." Melody said. "I'll start rounding up everyone." She glared at the digidestined there. "What, we're not good enough or something? There's no way I'm letting Davis go back into a fight without me along!"

Crystal nodded. "This is our fight too, guys. We're as involved as any of you are."

"Hey, the more the merrier, right?" Kari smiled, as the meeting broke up. "I just need to run an errand, there's someone else we need to bring in."

-Oak compound

Ash watched, awed, as two Sabirdramon streaked overhead, heading towards the Destiny Stone. On his shoulder, Pikachu gaped, sharing his friend's mental state.

"It's something, isn't it?" Gary Oak walked over; smirking at his long-time rival's baffled expression. "Of course, only someone with my intelligence could understand that he's witnessing history."

Beside him, a small grey and blue digimon sighed. "This is serious! We don't have time to go picking fights with old rivals, no matter how badly we might be able to trash them!"

Ash turned around, retort ready, and saw Bearmon. "A digimon? Like those ones in Johto?"

It was Gary's turn to blink. "You've encountered digimon before?" He fished in his pocket. "Got one of these?" he asked, showing Ash his digivice. "Well, I guess that, once again, I've managed to one-up you. I've had this for a few weeks now."

"Like me?" Misty asked, wandering over, her own digivice in hand.

"Or me?" Tracey and Tentomon wandered over.

"Heh, better hurry up Ash, or you'll be left out again!"

"Hah. Maybe Pikachu and I don't need one," Ash replied confidently.

Some yards away, Benjamin, one of the Gennai clones summoned from Earth, smirked. You have no idea how right you are, Ash, he thought. He glanced up as several calls came from Professor Oak's. "Looks like it's starting."

-Johanneson residence

Josh opened the door. "Kari? What's up?"

Kari blinked. "You haven't heard?"

Josh sighed. "No. Jake got into a fight with Kristen and managed to put a ficus plant through our new TV. Don't ask me how."

-Digital World

June looked from the mountain, formed from the ruins around Primary Village, shooting towards the darkened sky, and twisted at the top to form a castle, gothic and foreboding. Demon flew above her, heading towards his new residence. Already, several twisted pseudo-digimon were appearing from the ground, crawling up the mountain to serve their new master. Some more made their way to June, and gathered around her, awaiting her commands.

Above her, Lady Devimon and War Devidramon watched. "Hmph. To be enslaved to that miserable human. It disgusts me," the mega digimon growled. Glancing at Lady Devimon, he continued, more sarcastically. "Though at least she's not splattered over the Digital World like someone's art project."

Lady Devimon frowned. She knew that that was Demon's style, he had made no secret of it. Still, she had felt some perverse loyalty to Arukenimon.

She shook off the emotion. "It was part of Demon's plan." She saw a flash of light in the distance. "I see the fools are back."

"Do not tell me you're surprised," War Devidramon said sardonically.

Below, June also saw the flash. "A digital gateway. Our former friends are brave. And stupid."

"They care about you, and want you freed from Demon's control." Kyle felt some hope. Davis, he prayed, don't screw this up.

June sighed, exasperated by Kyle's belief that she, the Empress of the Digital World, could be 'redeemed'. "Go," she ordered the digimon around her. "Wipe them out." She frowned, wondering why she was hesitating in giving the order. "War Devidramon, focus on the DNA digimon, they're the bigger threat. Take out Shakkouomon first, he can absorb Mega-level attacks. After him, the rest should…should…"

"I go." War Devidramon grunted. She's slipping, Demon you fool!

Lady Devimon watched as War Devidramon shot towards the front line of the battle, already lining up a shot at the massive metal…thing that was Shakkouomon. She then glanced at June, staring fixedly ahead.

-

There had been a flood of shouts as those digimon that could DNA digivolve did so. "He's coming," Ken said to the rest of the group as he spotted War Devidramon.

"I see June," Sylphimon called. "She and Kyle are up on that…mountain."

TK ran forward, squinting into the blackness. The clouds cleared to reveal…"Infinity Mountain." Almost on instinct, he took a step forward.

"This isn't the time, TK." Angemon's voice said from Shakkouomon. "He's just trying to psych us out, that's all."

TK sighed, still shaken a bit. He still had nightmares about that mountain, where Angemon had been killed fighting Devimon. Intellectually, he knew that it wasn't his fault, but part of him still blamed himself for the events.

Matt's hand settled on his shoulder. "Come on, TK. Let's do it right this time."

"Yeah."

-

War Devidramon saw the assembled DNA digimon. Pathetic. No sign of Phoenixmon. There was only one digimon that could pose a threat, and War Devidramon was fairly sure that-

He skidded to a stop, landing and tearing long furrows in the ground, barely avoiding a collision with the massive silver and gold warrior. "What," Omnimon taunted, "don't like a fair fight?"

-

June frowned as Omnimon started attacking. "Desperate, bringing Omnimon out this early. Everyone knows that he can't hold that form forever."

"You'd be surprised," Kyle said, slowly inching towards June. Seeing this, she shied away. "June, please stop this. You know this is wrong."

With a snarl, June shoved Kyle away, returning her attention to the battle. Kyle saw the small mark where the Dark Spore had been inserted on the back of her neck.

As did Lady Devimon.

-

The plan had been simple enough. Omnimon was to ambush War Devidramon, Shakkouomon would help out, and the rest of the digidestined would make a break for June and free her and Kyle.

They were stopped part-way by a small horde of spider-like digimon, vaguely resembling Arukenimon, all at least Ultimate level. The charge bogged down.

"NOW!" Kari's yell cut through the din of battle.

On cue, Ken took out the laptop he had borrowed from Professor Oak and opened it, allowing the first generation of digidestined to pile through, adding their own Ultimate digimon to the mix. And in with them…

"Agumon, digivolve to…SIGMUNMON!" Josh had to smile, still taken aback by his partner's new evolution. He was a massive mechanical angel digimon, looking like he had stepped out of an episode of Gundam Wing. Quickly, Sigmunmon pulled out a massive sword, one end covered in red light, and he charged in, sword swinging, sending spider-creatures flying left and right.

-

"Keep FIGHTING!" June roared. "War Devimon, stop fooling around with Omnimon and TAKE OUT THOSE OTHER DIGIMON BEFORE THEY GET HERE!"

Now, Kyle decided. He got up, grabbing June by the arms. "June, you have to stop this! Can't you see that we won't give up?"

"Neither will I!" June punctuated this with another electrical surge. For the first time, Kyle noticed that Elecmon was the one doing the attacking; he was currently sitting motionless by June, feeding his own attacks into her digivice, which she could then channel wherever she willed. "I will not stop, Demon will not stop, War Devidramon will noAUUGHHH!" June screamed and pitched forward into Kyle's arms. Kyle was confused, then horrified as, feeling something odd on one of his hands and moving it to have a look, saw blood on it.

Smirking, Lady Devimon held the Dark Spore she had taken out of June. "I tire of this melodrama. You want her, you can have her. She might heal up."

Slowly, Kyle put June down on the ground. Rage took over then, blotting out reason. Snarling, Kyle grabbed the nearest heavy object he could, raised it, and charged at Lady Devimon.

Despite the pain of the Dark Spore's violent removal, June was not knocked out; half dazed as the psychic emanations from the Spore were abruptly cut off, she staggered up, trying to remember what she was doing. She staggered to her feet, hearing a shout of pain, and saw Kyle, blood red spears shooting through one shoulder into the ground.

-

Davis stopped calling orders to Paildramon and started running. Somehow, he knew that something bad had happened.

He had to find his sister.

-

The haze was clearing as June made her way over to where Kyle was. Lady Devimon withdrew her claws, allowing the trainer to fall to the ground. "Kyle? Kyle?"

"Post-Spore comedown, 'empress'," Lady Devimon asked. Ignoring the two, she opened her mouth and swallowed the spore.

The sheer power tore through her. So, this is how War Devidramon did it, she realized as she felt her form shift. "Lady Devimon, digivolve to…Selenemon!" The body of the leather-clad fallen angel shimmered and was replaced by a much more regal figure. Pale white skin, platinum blonde hair, blood red fingernails dripping fire, bodysuit and skirt matching her claws, along with black accents. Translucent wings extended behind her, tinting what light was there with a faint red haze.

"Now, what to do with you two…"

-

Caught up with his battle with Omnimon, War Devidramon staggered as he felt a spike of pain through the back of his neck. He realized what had happened as the feeling of control dissipated. "Nicely played, cat." He regarded Omnimon. "You're too late. My compatriot has finished off your friend."

The cannon coming out of the wolf's head spoke twice, driving War Devidramon back. "For your sake, you'd better hope June's alive," Omnimon replied, attacks becoming more savage.

-

Cody stepped back, thrusting his shinai into the gut of one spider-creature, forcing it back. Some of the other digidestined had questioned Cody's wisdom in bringing a training sword, but relented.

Cody was now proving his critics wrong, managing to force back another monster, using the few elements of kenjutsu his grandfather had deemed him mature enough to learn.

One monster spat a ball of webbing into his face. Blinded, Cody staggered back, unable to defend himself.

"FARFETCH'D!" a pokemon cried, striking the attacker with his onion stalk. Distracted by the unorthodox weapon, the monster stepped back.

Noriko ran over to Cody, helping him up and clearing the webs from his eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Noriko? When did you get here?"

Noriko smiled a bit. "I wanted to return the favour I owed my knight in shining armour." Cody stammered a thank-you.

A few feet away, Mimi giggled a bit. She knew bringing her along was a good idea.

-

Selenemon waited for a minute, exulting in the feeling of power she had now.

:Ah, good: Demon's voice echoed. :I was wondering when you would get around to that.:

"D-Demon?"

:Of course. I was expecting something like this to happen. Now both you and War Devidramon have a Dark Spore in you. You may dispose of our Empress, if you wish. I no longer have a use for her.:

"Finally. I think it's time an example was made." She swept down and picked up Kyle, June and Elecmon, carrying them high into the night sky. Then, aiming at the knot of humans closest to her, she hurled the three as hard as she could.

-

Shiryumon, Melody riding him, had picked up Davis moments earlier, flew towards the area that Sylphimon had spotted June and Kyle at the beginning of the battle. The three of them saw Lady Devimon do something to June, then digivolve, fly up, and throw her, her partner, and Kyle at the leading group of digidestined. "GO!" Both he and Melody roared, urging the dragon down on an intercept.

-

Kyle came to, aware of the numbness in one arm and something clutched tightly against him. "June…" he croaked. Something was roaring in his ears.

Twisting his head, he saw something large and solid coming up at him. With his good arm, he reached into June's belt, took out the small pokeball he had planted there when War Devidramon had first appeared, and opened it.

Scizor appeared, not quite sure what had happened. His last memory was of flying into an explosion, and seeing a red beam of energy lancing at him-

He saw Kyle and June falling, and raced down, grabbing the two in his arms, wincing as he saw Elecmon fall free. His wings buzzed, but he knew that, even with his enhanced abilities, there was no way he could slow the two humans down enough to make the fall survivable.

It was then that Shiryumon coiled around them, Melody and Davis taking the two humans on board. Below, Caryl's Aerodactyl snatched Elecmon out of the air, dropping the digimon near where Shiryumon landed.

Tai ran over. "How is-" he stopped, stunned by the sight. Melody had some torn strips of cloth pressed over Kyle's shoulder, already red with blood. Davis cradled his sister, vest bundled up under her head and neck. Caryl started to get up to see what was going on, but was stopped by Ryo, who shook his head.

Scizor ignored all of this, eyes fixed on Selenemon. "This ends now," he growled, flying right at the mega-level digimon, not caring if the act cost him his life.

"Oh, this should be amusing." Selenemon floated back, easily dodging the pokemon's first strike. She kept dodging, mocking Scizor all the while. Then, tiring of this, she called up a ball of energy, shouted "Fallen Wing", and slammed it into the pokemon, driving him into Infinity Mountain.

"Not…smart…" Scizor managed. "Lucky I'm…a fast learner. Swords Dance!" Selenemon feigned a yawn. "HYPER BEAM!"

The attack was batted aside; down below, Tai was reminded of when he and the other digidestined had faced the Dark Masters. He was shoved aside as Joe ran over, medical kit already out. Matt ran up as well. "Omnimon's almost out of power. Where's-"

"Starlight Explosion!" was heard in the distance. "Never mind. How-" he stopped, seeing Kyle and June, then looking up and seeing the fight in the sky. "He needs help!"

"From who?" Tai demanded. "All of our digimon are tied up. Whatever Lady Devimon's become, she's a Mega level now, and a really strong one."

"Hold him down," Joe yelled as Kyle tried to get up. "Lie still, or you'll make that stab wound worse."

-

"You know, this is getting a bit boring," Selenemon drawled. "You show up, we dance around a bit, I get away…" Her backhand sent Scizor flying back several meters. "Maybe you're right. We should end this now." Two globes of murky darkness formed in her hands. "Let this be my way of thanking you, for all the lovely memories…FALLEN WING!"

The two spheres shot out and swallowed up the bug pokemon. There was a loud crack, and the sphere dissipated, leaving Scizor badly injured, barely able to stay aloft. "You're lucky. I decided to hold back a bit of power at the last minute. Call it…professional courtesy; we are alike, after all."

"What do you mean?" Scizor tried to focus, regain some of his energy. His eyes widened as he saw several cracks on his body, the chron-digizoid impregnated skin giving way under the assault.

"We were both normal pokemon, given power by the Digital World. SHADOW TALON!" Inky-black darts ripped through Scizor. "I think I'll dispense with tradition and not offer you a position.

"W…wouldn't be interested. RRAHHHHR!" Scizor shot forward, sudden surge of energy catching Selenemon off guard.

"Why won't you DIE?"

-

"S…Scizor…keep fighting…"

Blast it, Kyle! Stop fighting and let me help!" Joe nodded to Tai and Matt, who had run over and were helping to hold the trainer down. Some distance away, Cody and Mimi were tending to June, who was less injured, but almost comatose from shock.

Out of Tai's pocket came two flashes of light; Eevee and Growlithe appeared and scrambled to Kyle's side.

"Send us in!" Eevee demanded. "Scizor's getting killed up there!"

"We can't stand by and-" Growlithe started.

"N…NO!" Kyle forced himself up. "I can feel…Scizor, I know you can win this."

"He's fighting a Mega level digimon!" Tai snapped. Ignoring him, Kyle raised his digivice.

Davis saw what he was doing. "Kyle, Scizor can't…" His eyes widened. "Tai, tell everyone who has a digiegg to use it now! Scizor needs our help!"

"Davis, have you…" Tai stopped, realizing where Davis was going. "Like with Sora…" He got up and ran to where Ken and Yolei were.

-

Selenemon had had enough. Frustrated by Scizor's continued refusal to fall, she powered up one more Fallen Wing. She watched as the ball of dark energy flew at Scizor, enveloped him-

And watched, startled, as a streak of light flew into the cloud, bursting it before it could kill the bug pokemon. Her surprise turned to terror as she recognized the small object floating in front of Scizor.

Kyle's Digiegg of Loyalty. It glowed, and then merged with Scizor. "No!" Selenemon flew forward, striking Scizor. The blow did some injury, but she could tell that something was re-energizing the pokemon.

"Yes," Scizor whispered. "Kyle's loyalty to me is my strength, as is my loyalty to him and his friends." Another digiegg appeared, merging with him. Then another, and another.

"Fool! You think Armour evolution will save you? I'm a MEGA LEVEL DIGIMON!"

"Yeah? I can think of one armour…" Scizor grinned, feeling the power surge through him, surrounded by a golden glow.

Down below, Davis watched it, recognizing the aura appearing around the pokemon. "No way…"

"It can't be…the Golden Armour?" Ken gasped, hand going to his pocket. The Crest of Kindness he carried was still there. "I thought…"

-

In his new castle, Demon frowned. This was an unexpected turn of events. He got up, hand going to the silver and bronze medallion at his neck. With a yank, he pulled it off, letting it, then the robes he wore that concealed his entire body, fall to the ground.

-

The digidestined watched as the Golden Armour, once worn by Veemon when he had beaten Chimeramon, now appeared, piece by piece, and clamped onto Scizor's body.

"I still say it looked better on me." Exveemon's voice rang from Paildramon.

"I think you're a little big for it right now," Silphymon sighed. "Huh?" As Silphymon watched, the spider-creatures started retreating. "I don't like this."

"What's not to like?" Paildramon asked. "Scizor's powering up IN MY GOLDEN ARMOUR and is about to kick major butt! In my armour. Which looked better on me."

"VEEMON!" Everyone chorused.

Above, the two combatants stared at each other. "I'll peel that armour like a banana. Fallen Wing!"

"Steel Swarmers!" Dozens of small silver missiles were released from the shoulder and leg guards on Scizor's new armour, intercepting and cancelling Selenemon's attack.

"You…you won't win!' Selenemon started drawing all the power she could from the Dark Spore she had captured.

"Yes we will!" Scizor did likewise, pulling all the power he could into his new armour. "You're not just fighting me anymore. You're fighting all of us, and the power of the Digital World itself!"

"ENOUGH!" Surrounded by an aura resembling a massive black dragon, Selenemon charged forward, fingers sharpening into talons, pulled back to strike.

Scizor shot forward as well, his aura so bright it was impossible to look directly at him. Which was a shame, as no one saw the exchange of blows that followed.

A few seconds later, the light died down, and Scizor and Selenemon could be seen on opposite sides of the battlefield now. They both held still for an eternal second. Light glinted off Scizor's armour, revealing a trio of claw marks.

Selenemon started to laugh, then moaned in pain. "No…no, I cannot have lost! Not to that!" Below, there were cheers as everyone saw that Selenemon had been defeated. She crumpled up, and started to float down to the side of Infinity Mountain.

Back at the group of humans, Kyle leaned back. "Good job, Scizor."

Above, Scizor nodded. "Not bad, for a last battle as a pokemon."

-

War Devidramon stopped, almost forgetting to duck Phoenixmon's Starlight Explosion, on seeing Selenemon defeated. "Fool," He muttered, breaking off the battle and speeding up to Demon's castle.

-

Scizor landed by Kyle, now somewhat conscious, shoulder and numerous other minor wounds taped up. "Dude," Davis grinned, "you totally owned her!" He glanced at Matt. "Super Scizor, like you said."

Matt nodded. "Now, it's just War Devidramon and Demon."

"There goes War Devidramon!" Cody tracked the massive digimon as he sped back to Demon's castle. "Is he giving up already?"

"I doubt it," Ken said, staring up the mountain to the castle at the top. "What about her," he asked, indicating Selenemon. Despite her injuries, she had not de-evolved.

His question was answered a second later as she was swallowed up by a ball of sickly-blue energy, and lifted partway up the mountain. At about halfway up, a large blue scaly hand smashed out of the rock and grabbed the sphere. "Thank you my dear. Your negative energies managed to finish the spore's evolution." The hand opened up, and Selenemon screamed as the Dark Spore was now taken from her, just as she had done to June. Instinctively, Scizor shot upwards, flying for Selenemon. To his surprise, he encountered no resistance, smashing through the bubble and grabbing the evil hybrid digimon. He turned, expecting an attack, but saw none coming, instead witnessing the hand withdraw into the mountain.

"W…why…?"

Under his helmet, Scizor smiled. "Professional courtesy."

"Valiant, but late." Demon's voice echoed around everyone, but no one could see the speaker. "I have everything I need now. War Devidramon, please wait at the castle. It is time I got involved."

The mountain collapsed. A huge blue skinned monstrosity stepped out, towering over the digidestined. Demon, true form revealed, made the best impression of a demonic smile his fang-filled maw could manage. Three-fingered hands ending in needle-sharp talons the size of flagpoles flexed. Black and blue electricity crackled between haphazardly placed tufts of blue fur. Two rippling pools of gold floated in lakes of red, the eyes of Demon, uncovered at last.

"Now then…" Demon grumbled, leaning over the humans. "Where to begin…?"

-Professor Oak's lab, Kanto Region

Mewtwo's eyes flashed with blue light. "The final battle has begun. Azulongmon, we must be ready."

Above, the massive dragon hovered in the clouds. "Yes, but there is still one more act that must happen before we get involved. Demon must fully reveal his power."

"And he is about to." Mewtwo concentrated his might. "As I am about to."

-Digital World

Davis wasn't sure who yelled 'attack'. It might have been him, or one of the others. All he knew was that every good digimon that was still able to rallied and started hurling whatever they could against Demon.

All to no effect. Scizor, still standing by the fallen Selenemon, was waiting, seemingly in communication with someone.

Demon waited for the smoke to clear, and smiled, as if it were all some grand joke. "Now I shall stand fully revealed. This Dark Spore has been fully energized. The Digital World is covered with my power." As he spoke, everyone could hear a faint roaring noise. The sound of waves pounding against a beach, specifically. Opening his hand, the Dark Spore glowed one last time and sunk into Demon's palm. There was a moment of silence, then Demon's body was wrapped in a black and red vortex, screams and tearing sounds coming from within.

When it finished, the vortex simply vanished, leaving a massive red and blue skeletal beast. It raised a hand, brought it down, flinging a massive shockwave at the digidestined. All of the DNA digimon were knocked down, even the airborne ones feeling the strike.

Only Scizor was left, a field blocking the wave from hitting him, Selenemon, and the humans, who had somehow been transported to the pokemon's side. A second later, Mewtwo appeared.

"So, the newest of the Guardians has come to play, yes?"

Mewtwo shook his head, then glanced at Scizor. "No. I have come to set right what you have tried to destroy, Skull Demon." His eyes closed, and the last Destiny Stone appeared over the wreckage of Primary Village. "Scizor! Lend me your power!"

"Right!" Scizor concentrated, and the digieggs he had absorbed appeared around him, then flew to separate points around Primary Village. A golden field appeared, and the small haven was restored, warded against the Dark Ocean's power.

"Digidestined, there is a portal ready inside. Use it!" Mewtwo didn't quite flinch as another power bolt slammed against the screen he and Scizor had erected. "You will not be safe here much longer!"

Everyone took the hint. Joe and TK carried Kyle, Davis helped his sister, and everyone piled in, the digimon switching back to their rookie forms. Inside the field they found a floating circle, spinning slowly, Professor Oak's lab visible on the other side.

When the last human had made it through, Mewtwo and Scizor retreated inside. "This changes nothing!" Skull Demon thundered. "Now or later does not matter! I still have the power of the Dark Ocean, the other Destiny Stones, and a fully energized Dark Spore inside me!"

"And we have Primary Village." Mewtwo shot back. "And soon, the rest of the Digital World too. You will lose, Skull Demon. Come." Scizor bent over, picked up Selenemon, and followed Mewtwo through the portal.

"Very well, Mewtwo. Then let the last act of this farce be played out. But know that I, Skull Demon shall be the one to bury you. And I will save you for last."

Next Episode:  
The fate of the Digital World is decided as Skull Demon faces the combined forces of three worlds. It all comes to a head on the FINAL CHAPTER OF DIGIMON:DIGICROSS.

"Digital Paladin!"


	46. Digital Paladin

'Chaos' was too polite a word to describe what was happening in and around Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town. It had only been a few hours since Mewtwo had tapped into the power of the Primary Village Destiny Stone to transport every Digimon in the Digital World to this reality. 

Still, it was a bit odd. During the transport, Mewtwo had felt what could only be described as...'dead spots' where Digimon had a hard time surviving. He and Azulongmon had managed to retrieve those few Digimon that had wound up in those areas, mainly in the Houen region, and transported them here.

He pushed it aside. Fix the digital world first, and then look into the dead zones. Maybe some of the digidestined who had pokemon for partners could look into it. Later. Now there were plans to make, and wounds to heal.

--  
Digimon Digicross FINAL ACT -'Digital Paladin'  
--

The Japanese digidestined, except for Davis, Kari, and Izzy, crowded outside a door to one of Oak's guest rooms. Davis was inside, talking to Kyle and June, who were still recovering. Kari and Izzy were with Scizor, checking on Lady Devimon, who wasn't expected to survive. Their Digimon were nearby, resting and recovering; they had taken the brunt of the injuries during the battle.

Yolei leaned back from the small window. "I wonder what they're saying?"

Ken winced as he saw June start crying, both Davis and Kyle moving to console her. "We shouldn't be here."

"Davis wanted us here," Sora said. "I don't think it'd do much good to leave them alone, you know?"

"Yeah. I know Davis has grown up a lot, but ow!" Tai winced as Sora elbowed him. Sora glanced at him, smiled slightly, and looked back through the window. "If I know June, she'll be getting mad about it anytime now."

"Yeah. Bit like me," Matt mused, then flinched as Mimi glared at him.

"I hope she'll be alright." Cody looked a bit downcast. Yolei smiled, bent down, and patted the boy's head.

"She'll be fine," Tai insisted. "Just watch."

--

Lady Devimon was inside one of the larger observation rooms. Every now and then, she shuddered, feeling some of her life-energy leave her. "So, this is how it ends," she muttered. "Come to gloat?"

A few feet away, Gatomon shook her head. "No."

"Pity, then?"

"Believe it or not," Scizor sighed, still clad in his golden armour, "we really wish that this hadn't happened. Whatever it was."

"Demon took the Dark Spore out of me, obviously," Lady Devimon snarled. "Fitting, considering what I did to your friend. Still regret this?"

"Yes," Gatomon said quietly. "Just...why? Why did you help Demon?"

"I guess all that loyalty garbage was still there. I was loyal to Arukenimon and, in a way, to Demon. Oh, I bought all his talk about only the strong surviving. I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought I was."

"You know that kind of talk is just-" Gatomon started to say.

"Ha," Lady Devimon croaked. "Still preaching, eh?" She shuddered again as a series of coughs shook her. Gatomon and Scizor watched as Lady Devimon's body shrunk; it wasn't reverting to a lower level form, she was just a smaller Lady Devimon now, barely taller than an average human. "I chose my side, and I won't leave it and join with you. I'll have my last laugh."

Outside, Izzy stared at one of the monitors. "She's losing a lot of energy. I think her digicore is...rejecting her pokemon half."

Kari blinked. "How?"

"When a Digimon...dies," Izzy frowned, not comfortable with the concept, "its body becomes a digiegg and returns to Primary Village. But Sneasel...well, Eevee and Growlithe evolved into digital pokemon. I think Sneasel had it forced on her. Now her body's disintegrating."

"One...one last joke on you, and on Demon," Lady Devimon said, becoming ghostly and shrinking even more. "A little chaos. A legacy. I just wish I could...see...your...faaaaa..."

"Lady Devimon!" Gatomon stepped forward, horrified, as she watched Lady Devimon discorporate. Most of her body vanished. All that was left was a small black cloud of particles, which hovered over the bed for a second, then came together, leaving a small oval object. It was mainly jet black, with a small patch of silver on the top.

"A digiegg..." Gatomon whispered.

Scizor strode over, eyeing the digiegg. Behind his visor, his eyes widened. "Hey. You two lovebirds seeing what I'm seeing?"

--

Everyone had been invited into the room, and were all trying to crowd around the bed where June was now sitting up, looking a lot happier than she had been a half-hour ago. She was still ticked about having been used by Demon to take over the Digital World, which everyone had deemed a healthy enough response to what had happened to her.

Kari, Izzy, and all the Digimon walked in, carrying a black digiegg. "Lady Devimon's...gone." Kari said quietly.

Kyle looked downcast. "Is that her digiegg?"

"Yes and no," Scizor said. "I think it's closer to a normal pokemon egg. It should hatch into a digital pokemon, but it won't be the Sneasel we knew." Kyle shivered a bit. Sensing his discomfort, June put a hand on his arm. "There's more." Scizor tilted the egg forward, revealing a black outline of a starburst on the top of the egg.

Yolei was the first to recognize it. "That's...Kari's crest of Light?"

"Yeah," Izzy nodded. "Probably Lady Devimon's idea of a joke."

Davis nodded. "So let's save the digital world and put it in Primary Village."

"Just like that," Ken asked, startled by Davis' statement.

"Sure." To Davis, it was that simple. Like his next plan. "Alright, here's the plan: we get everyone together, and take down Skull Demon."

No one spoke for a moment. Then, June smiled. "I like it."

--Infinity Mountain

War Devidramon looked down from the peak of the mountain at the small golden dome covering Primary Village. The last speck of light preventing the Dark Ocean from completely overtaking the Digital World.

Standing behind him was the massive figure of Skull Demon, his power boosted by the addition of a Dark Spore, cultivated in the body of June Motomiya, then harvested from Lady Devimon after that creature had taken it from her. War Devidramon was fairly certain that taking the Dark Spore from him would be nigh impossible in his current form. Somehow, his ruler had managed to transcend the normal limits of Digimon and achieve a level higher than Mega.

Currently, the demonic digimon's power was being hurled against the protective dome created by Scizor. And repelled. "That insectile fool may have slowed me, but no matter. I will break down the protective shield over Primary Village, and complete my conquest. At least, this phase of it. What of my troops?"

War Devidramon did not look back. "They continue to multiply, Skull Demon. And they die as fast when they hurl themselves against Primary Village's shield."

"And hurl themselves they shall continue to do, War Devidramon. That is the last piece of the Digital World to be claimed. Once I have it, my rule over this world will be unopposed."

"And the humans and their Digimon partners?"

Skull Demon shrugged. "Irrelevant. I'll leave that to you to handle. You CAN handle it, yes? Because I'd hate to lose both my lieutenants in one day, War Devidramon. Especially if it were by my own hand. I did invest a lot of time in your development."

"I will not fail you," War Devidramon growled.

"No. No, you won't."

--

The small spider squirmed helplessly in the undead digimon's hand. He leered at the small arachnid, still not quite satisfied. "One more piece to go, my love."

--

Tai sighed as he watched the younger generation of digidestined get ready to go into battle. "This bites. We should be going with them."

"Not an option," Matt sighed. "Face it, our Digimon have been put through the wringer. We'll just have to content ourselves with being the B-team, this time."

"Yeah."

Matt smirked. "Tai, Kari'll be OK. She's a big girl now."

Tai stifled a chuckle. "How's Izzy doing?"

"Switching between checking the progress of the Dark Ocean in the Digital World and worrying himself sick over Kari, just like you."

A few feet away, Joe leaned back, trying to relax. "I thought I was too old for this saving the world nonsense."

"Ahh, you're never too old," Gomamon sighed. "Well, maybe Elecmon is..."

"Don't let him here you say that," Joe reprimanded. "How is he? Any word?"

"Mad now, according to Eevee."

Joe nodded. A few yards away, there was a shout, and Davis came running into view, June chasing him. "Davis Motomiya, you get back here THIS INSTANT!"

"...were we ever like that?" Joe asked.

Gomamon took the cue. "Well, there was that two week period where you had that huge crush on Sora...OW! What happened to that Hippocratic Oath?"

"Ask me after I take it." Joe answered, massaging his knuckles.

--

Kyle watched June take off after Davis, feeling an odd mix of relief at things being somewhat back to normal, and annoyance. It was just a small kiss...

"Everything OK in here?" Cody asked, walking over to the pokemon trainer.

"Yeah, just Davis being Davis." Cody nodded. "How are you doing?"

"OK. I just feel...weird about Lady Devimon...I though Digimon could come back."

Kyle sighed. "Well, Lady Devimon's not...wasn't a Digimon. She was a hybrid. And we don't know what will come out of that egg she left behind. But it looks like it won't be her, If Mewtwo read it right."

Cody shuddered a bit. "I don't think I can imagine what would happen if I lost Armadillomon. Does that mean..."

Kyle sighed. "I don't know about Growlithe or Eevee. But they still want to fight, no matter what." Kyle looked up at the sky. It was getting a bit late now; the moon was starting to come out. "It's definitely not like the battles I had before coming to the Digital World. And this one...well, I hope it's the last one for a long while."

"'A long while'?" Cody blinked, puzzled. "This will keep happening?"

"Probably. The Dark Ocean we know about. Who knows what else is out there? But if we don't fight, we could lose everything." He glanced back down the path, seeing a very satisfied June Motomiya approaching. "And I kind of like what I have now."

Cody blushed slightly. "Maybe I should leave..."

"Relax. Geez, Hawkmon was right, you do have a filthy mind."

--

"So, you'll be staying in New York?"

Mimi nodded, a bit sadly. "I'm afraid so, Yolei. Mom and dad are too settled now to move back to Japan. I'll probably get grounded until I'm 21 for being here."

"Not that that could stop you. What about you, Kari?"

Kari sighed. "Well, mom and dad wanted it to be a surprise, but...we found a place here in Stone Town."

"No way," Mimi gasped. "I'm so jealous!"

"Same here! I mean, Hawkmon's always whining about wanting to come here. Why?"

Kari glanced at where Hawkmon was flying around Kyle's Pidgeot. "I think I know..."

Yolei stared at Kari, then at Hawkmon, then back at Kari. "Whuu...WHAT? HAWKMON, GET OVER HERE!" She stormed off.

--

"Easy, Stu," Monodramon said. "It'll be fine."

"Fine? Of course it'll be fine." Stuart glanced at his partner, not quite hyperventilating. "Why shouldn't it be fine? I mean, I'm just a high school student who's been asked to save the world. Easy, really!"

Monodramon shuddered a bit as Stuart was about to cross over into full hyperventilation mode.

"Stuart?" Stuart forced himself to stand up. Mimi was there, looking worried. "Are you alright?"

"S...sure..." Stuart wheezed.

"Ohh," Mimi cooed, "you poor thing. You know, it takes a really brave person to admit he's scared." Stuart was still on the edge of hyperventilating, but for entirely different reasons now.

A few feet away, Matt turned away, trying, and failing, to keep a straight face. Mimi's performance was so over the top, he knew there was no danger of Stuart taking it seriously. Really. No fear at all.

Could Gabumon still reach his Mega level?

--

"Deja vu?" Ken nodded. Ryo shrugged. "Well, can't be helped. We were, after all, the first and the best."

Ken looked at his feet. "Some best. I got mind controlled and tried to take over the Digital World."

"Could be worse. You could have been good at it."

"Whaaa...?" Ken stared at Ryo, caught between shock and outrage. Then, he recovered. "Funny. Where's Caryl?"

"Oh, off bugging Professor Oak. She's gonna be scary when she gets her license. Loreli made a big impression on her. I'll have to start training again."

"You're going back to pokemon battling?"

"Yeah. Hey, family tradition and all that. Why don't you give it a shot, Ken? I hear the new league rules are gonna cover digivolutions. You'd be good."

"We'll see. I have a lot of lost time to make up. I was a jerk for a long time after Sam..."

Ryo nodded. "Well, think about it, alright? We're still DNA partners, no matter what that goggle-brained wannabe says."

There was a slight pause. Then, Ken asked "so, how good is Caryl now?"

"Whipped me twice last week. Her and Renamon..."

"Scary," both chorused.

--

Finally, it was time to go. Everyone stood near the gateway, their Digimon ready to digivolve and charge into battle. Sitting at an advanced computer, Izzy glanced at the first wave going in. "The shield around Primary Village is still holding, but I can't tell for how much longer; the number of spider-creatures in continuing to increase."

"Spiders? Eww!" Yolei shuddered, sticking her tongue out.

"You leave the bug swatting to us," Casey declared. "As long as he," she glanced at Kyle Evanick, "pulls his weight."

Kyle rolled his eyes, ignoring Tsukaimon's snickering. "Better than pulling your weight, baseball freak."

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Children, please," Seth said, trying to calm the two down, as Wizardmon felt a migrane starting up. "We're about to go save the world. Wanna put the poorly-disguised romantic overtures aside until after?"

Kyle went white. "Poorly..."

"Disguised...," Casey stammered. Tsukaimon and Kunemon were both rolling on the ground, laughing.

"As I was about to say," Davis interrupted, cutting off Casey's ear-blistering comeback, "Let's GO!"

"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!"

"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"

"Angemon...Ankylomon...DNA Digivolve to...Shakkouomon!"

"Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquillamon!"

"Aquillamon...Gatomon...DNA Digivolve to...Sylphimon!"

"Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!"

"Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!"

"Kyuubimon...Charizard...DNA Digivolve to...Agnimon!"

"Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!"

"Kunemon, digivolve to...Yanmamon!"

"Wizardmon...Yanmamon...DNA Digivolve to...Wolfmon!"

"Eevee, digivolve to...Espeon!"

"Veemon, digivolve to...Depthmon!"

"Espeon...Depthmon...DNA Digivolve to...Shiryumon!"

"So, Palmon, after this is over-"

"MONODRAMON!" Stuart yelled, bouncing a stray Pineco off of his partner's head.

"OW! I was just-" Glares all around, and Stuart started reaching for another Pineco. "Fine. Monodramon, digivolve to...Strikedramon!"

"Wizardmon...Strikedramon...DNA Digivolve to...Cyberdramon!"

"Veemon, digivolve to...ExVeemon!"

"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"

"ExVeemon...Stingmon...DNA Digivolve to...Paildramon!"

"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"

"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"

"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA digivolve to...Komainumon!"

"Komainumon...Paildramon...Mega Jogress Digivolve to...Imperialdramon!"

"Alright!" Yolei shouted. "Digiport OPEN!"

There was a huge flare of light, and when it passed, the first generation of digidestined were left behind with a small army of confused pokemon trainers. Matt turned around first. "Alright everyone, listen up!"

--

War Devidramon narrowed his eyes. "They're coming."

:They will come in force: Skull Demon sent telepathically. :Do as I showed you. And do not fail me.:

:Understood.: War Devidramon broke the link, focusing his concentration, letting the energy in his body reach out to the crawling spider monsters below. "Come. Come and join with me. Add your power to mine!"

Below him, the corrupted ground trembled, several dozen creatures gathering together. then they floated upwards, merging into War Devidramon's body. Pieces of armor appeared, covering more and more of War Devidramon's body.

"Now, digidestined...Now come and face me! I will crush you all!"

--

The digiport flared in the center of the ruined Primary Village, disgorging a whole horde of Digimon and digidestined.

Davis looked around. "So, think we still have the element of surprise?"

"Somehow, I doubt it." TK pointed to the outside of the barrier, where the spider-creatures waited expectantly. "Times like this I wish we hadn't gone over spiders just before the Christmas break." Kari nodded.

Davis glanced at TK. "Huh? I was asleep, what about spiders?"

"Later!" Imperialdramon surged forward. "POSITRON LASER!" The bright bluish-white beam stabbed out, vaporizing hordes of monsters; the dragon Digimon tracked the beam back and forth, clearing away as many targets as he could, allowing the other Digimon to fly out and start attacking.

They did; All the Digimon save for Imperialdramon charged out and engaged the forces that were trying to approach the shield. The massive dragon Digimon waited, eyes fixed on War Devidramon as he drew closer.

As expected, War Devidramon paid no attention to the DNA Digimon as he advanced; his score with Imperialdramon took precedence. Both sides had realized this, and had planned accordingly. Thus the DNA Digimon were kept busy with the spider beasts, and vice versa. "So, you've finally crawled out from hiding for a return match. I promise you, this will be different. Assume your Fighter mode and face me, Imperialdramon."

All four 'voices' of Imperialdramon spoke as one. "We don't need to transform to fight you! POSITRON LASER!" The blast was narrower this time, though no less impressive. War Devidramon, somewhat foolishly, raised an arm to block as he dodged to one side. The blast tore his arm off. "Told ya. Now give...uh oh."

War Devidramon cackled as his arm grew back, armour and all. "So, still think that you won't need all your power to face me? BURNING MISSILE!" The missiles shot out from War Devidramon, slamming into the golden shield, which shuddered under the attack. It shuddered again as the monstrous Digimon struck with several War Claw attacks. An ominous cracking noise could be heard through Primary Village as the digieggs generating the field started to give.

"Stay here," Imperialdramon said to the humans. "It'll be safer. Imperialdramon, mode chage to...FIGHTER MODE!" Now humanoid, Imperialdramon flew out, tackling War Devidramon and forcing him away from the dome.

"Thought that would get your attention," War Devidramon mocked. "Now we can settle this without any more interruptions, save one. NOW, TUNNELERS RISE!"

Imperialdramon was baffled. How could tunnelers help when they were both fighting in mid-air? Then, it hit him. "No!"

"Ah-ah, Imperialdramon Fighter mode. We will continue our dance, while the underground Digimon attack those humans you thought were safe. WAR CLAW!"

In Primary Village, everyone scattered as several Digimon erupted from the ground. "Kill!" one shouted, aiming his drill-like horn at Kari and Yolei. Stuck in the fight, Sylphimon was unable to get back to them; the distraction allowed several spider-monsters to sink their teeth into the aerial Digimon.

The Drimogemon tried to lunge at the two defenseless targets. This proved hard as something large and sharp sliced him in to. The control spire Digimon disintegrated, leaving a large metallic angel that Kari recognized.

"Sorry we're late," Josh grinned. As he spoke, Cougmon sprinted behind him, blurred and changed to Cheetahmon and picked off a second attacker. "Missed a bus."

"Glad you could make it!" Davis yelled. "Who's your friend?"

"Yes, who?" A small ball with a chainsaw in one hand and a bomb in the other challenged Josh and his partner. "I'd like to know so I can report my victory to Skull DeAWK!"

The angel stepped back, sword having just cleaved Giromon in two, nodding to Josh. "Sigmunmon."

--

"Looks like your plan failed." Imperialdramon snarled, punching War Devidramon in the face. As he spoke, more digidestined and Digimon joined the ones in the sphere. "Oh, by the way? Look down."

"What are you-"

"HARPOON TORPEDO!" Several dozen missiles erupted from the ground and struck War Devidramon. Ikkakumon rose from the ground and started adding his attacks to the others, pushing the spidery hordes back further. Togemon and Kabuterimon joined in seconds later.

We're missing a few, War Devidramon thought, looking around

"Supreme Cannon!"

"Starlight Explosion!"

The demon Digimon landed in a heap on the ground, wounds regenerating a bit more slowly this time. "How much of your masters power will you be allowed to tap," Omnimon asked.

"Here in the Digital World, we can hold our Mega forms for a lot longer," Phoenixmon added, flames building up for a second attack.

"I...will not TOLERATE THIS! HAMMERS OF DARKNESS, I SUMMON THEE!" With a mighty roar, War Devidramon slammed his hands into the ground. Dozens of Control Spires burst out, then merged together, creating four Digimon Omnimon and Phoenixmon recognized all to well.

--

TK ran to the edge of the dome, shocked to the core of his being. Puppetmon, mallet in hand, strode towards some of the DNA Digimon. Metal Seadramon snaked up to join War Devidramon. Machinedramon and Piedmon advanced towards the dome.

"It's not them!" Izzy called. "They're just replicas of the Dark Masters we fought before!" Blades and blasts began to hammer the dome. "They're mega-level Digimon!" Sigmunmon and Cougmon stepped forward. "You can't hope to beat them!"

"We can," Sigmunmon growled.

"We will," Cougmon snarled.

"No one's going to push us around anymore!" both yelled, charging for the edge of the barrier. Kirsten, Jacob, and Gail's digivices lit up. "Cougmon, digivolve to...SKULLCHEETAHMON!" The massive skeletal cat's claws tore through one of the connectors on Machinedramon's torso, cutting power to one of his cannons.

Kyle took a pokeball out of his belt. "Showtime, Eevee!"

Eevee appeared, also making a beeline for the barrier. "Eevee, digivolve to...Flareon! Flareon, digivolve to...Pyroangemon!" While Skullcheetahmon battled with Machinedramon, the two angelic Digimon double-teamed the Piedmon replica

"Nice to see another angel," Pyroangemon said between strikes. "Weren't you a big red dinosaur before?"

"Long story! One sec while I finish this guy..." Sigmunmon produced a second blade similar to his first one and butted the two together. "DESTINY BLADE!" The blade shot out, decapitating Piedmon and shattering the covering, revealing a headless ebony statue.

"ATOM FORCE!" Pyroangemon shouted, driving his own blade into the statue, shattering it. As he did, SkullCheetahmon roared, large chunk of Spire in his teeth disintegrating, followed by Machinedramon.

The Japanese digidestined were stunned. "I thought..." Tai stammered. "But...they were..."

"Don't. Get us going. Right?" Jacob glanced at the rest of his family.

"Too right." As he spoke, two more digimon, Ultimates both, charged the dome, one of the few remaining actual digimon in Skull Demon's service. "And let me introduce my friends. Skull Satamon, this is Gladimon on my left..." An armoured digimon brandished a sword, slicing the Skull Satamon in half. "And on my right, Witchmon." The other digimon, dressed like the mystical figure she was named for, waved a wand. Devidramon slammed into an invisible wall and slid down to the ground, unconcious.

--

The undead Digimon picked up a seemingly random piece of soil, then removed a small chunk from a recently erected control spire. "This should do nicely. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and my love returned to me. Now, to begin the ceremony." A staff appeared in his hand, and the objects he had taken floated a few feet away from him. A large circle appeared with a series of geometric figures inside it. Words impossible to pronounce by any human were uttered.

The land shifted.

--

From his throne, Skull Demon watched the battle. Then he felt it. A subtle change in the flow of energy.

"No. Not now, you fool."

--

War Devidramon abandoned his plans and went back to his first instinct: attack with no quarter. His claws dug into Imperialdramon's torso, long tail making swipes at both Phoenixmon and Omnimon. "Even if I fall, I'll take you with me, Imperialdramon!"

"Not on the agenda! RRRRAHHH!" Yelling, Imperialdramon's head swung forward, head butting War Devidramon. He repeated the move twice more, forcing the devil Digimon to release him. "HIT HIM NOW!"

"SUPREME CANNON!"

"STARLIGHT EXPLOSION!"

"POSITRON CANNON!" The three attacks bored into War Devidramon, vaporizing his armor and a good bit of himself as well. Seconds later, Magnatar fell to the ground, barely aware of what had just happened.

"Power...where is..."

:Serve me, and live.: Magnatar blinked. That wasn't Skull Demon's voice in his head. It did have the effect of clearing his mind, though. Quickly, he sized up the situation: he was knocked back to his champion level, and was facing three very angry Mega Digimon, as well as several Ultimate Level DNA Digimon when they could spare the time. :I am the one who took your power. Serve me, and you will have it again.:

"I'm out of here." Magnatar snarled, teleporting away.

"How'd he do that?" Imperialdramon wondered.

--

Skull Demon shot to his feet. "Fine," he thundered. "I shall end this farce myself. Then I shall find that interfering corpse Murmuxmon and tear him apart one rotted bone at a time!"

--

Magnatar reappeared outside the circle. "You."

"Shh. I am almost done." As Magnatar watched, the three items in the centre of the circle merged, and formed into a humanoid shape. One that Magnatar recognized immediately. "And now, for the closing act," Murmuxmon cackled, producing one more item and throwing it into the circle.

--

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Still, Izzy felt a sense of foreboding. As soon as War Devidramon had fallen, the spider creatures had also vanished. He winced as the darkness started to recede a bit, leaving ruined land where it had touched. Hearing a gasp, he moved to Kari's side, taking her hand in his. "It'll get better," he promised.

Kari nodded. Intellectually, she knew that the battle would have a drastic effect on the digital world. But part of her hoped that, just once, it could go back to normal without having to continually fight evil Digimon.

"Don't relax yet," Kyle cautioned.

"We still have Skull Demon to defeat." Ken frowned. "But where is he?"

"Maybe he chickened out and ran back to his ocean?" Davis shrugged. "Hey, I can hope, can't I?"

"No," June said, trembling a bit. "He's still out there. I can feel it."

Kyle glanced at June, and nodded. "Izzy, tell all the Digimon to pull back. This fight's about to get harder."

"NO. IT'S JUST GOING TO END. NOW! DEATH INFERNO!" Flames stabbed out, striking Omnimon and Phoenixmon, knocking both back to their rookie forms. Sigmunmon and Pyroangemon grabbed Biyomon, Agumon, and Gabumon, and hustled them back behind the dome. "Safe? Good," Skull Demon rumbled, appearing out of nowhere. "I'd like you to watch as I tear your precious Digimon partners apart. I'll save you for last."

"He took out two Mega Digimon with one attack," Joe gasped.

Davis closed his eyes, then opened them. "EVERYONE, HIT HIM HARD!"

"Giga Crusher!" The attack flew at Skull Demon, only to be intercepted by his skeletal staff. Other attacks came in rapid succession, all being absorbed.

"Fools. Ray...of...DEATH!" Multiple beams of energy lanced out, striking all the attacking Digimon. Inside the barrier, the digidestined watched helplessly as Skull Demon's attack took out their Digimon partners. "Now, to take care of the true source of your power. Oh, children..."

"G...get out of here..." Agnimon groaned, struggling to get up.

"We...can take him." Cyberdramon struggled to get up. "Just need a bigger stick..."

"Time to sweep away the trash. Watch closely children, and behold the power of the Dark Ocean." Skull Demon raised his staff up, then slammed it to the ground. Dark water flooded the area, slowly rising over the Digimon outside the field, and climbing up the barrier over Primary Village. "So, now you see the futility of opposing me, yes? You are facing the power of the Dark Ocean, and as that word's ruler, I can tap into its power directly, and focus it through the Dark Spore I have taken inside me. And that's inside, in case any of your digital friends might try to shoot it out of me." Imperialdramon struggled to get up, strength leaving him. "Don't bother getting up. Let the Dark Ocean's tides drain your strength and make you my servant."

"Pikachu, THUNDER ATTACK!" The lightning bolt did no damage, but it did stop Skull Demon's monologue.

Ash Ketchum, standing with Gary, Misty, and a small army of pokemon trainers come digidestined, glared at Skull Demon. "You're not going to hurt our friends or anyone else any more!" Two massive birds, one red, one silver, streaked overhead. Ho-oh and Lugia launched blasts of fire and wind.

:You may be powerful, but I too can command the sea.: Psychic voice still ringing in everyone's mind, Lugia dove into the blackened water. Demon grinned, thinking that the beast had sacrificed himself for nothing. Then...

Around Skull Demon, the water turned bright blue, and exploded in a massive vortex, with such power that the massive demonic Digimon was knocked backwards. "Impressive, you flying fool, but my power can surpass anything you could summon. OBSERVE!" Skull Demon forced the water back down, grinning as he felt the water punch through the barrier, flooding the remains of Primary Village.

"Hey. Aren't you forgetting something?"

The demon glanced at the cliff opposite to the one the pokemon trainers were on. Imperialdramon, surrounded by all the DNA Digimon, the children inside a shining white dome on his back, glared back. Above him, the four guardians hovered, daring Skull Demon to attack.

"You face the combined might of three worlds, Skull Demon. Yield." Mewtwo's aura flared, building power for an attack.

"I have come too far to back down now. DARK OCEAN VORTEX!"

"I can't see!" Davis yelled panicked. "What's happening?"

"I must thank you, Mewtwo! You have brought all my foes to one place. I shall destroy them all!"

--

Cody came to, unable to see anything. "TK? Shakkouomon? Anyone? Even Davis?" he shivered a bit as no one answered. He could feel the darkness closing in on him, freezing his blood.

My digivice, he realized. I can track everyone with it. He reached down...

And found it missing. "Where'd it go? I need it...Without it..." He trailed off, remembering a conversation he had when he was just starting with his kendo lessons...

--Flashback

"Cody. How important is the sword?"

"Absolutely," Cody answered his grandfather. "You can't fight without it."

"Humph. That is wrong, Cody. Anyone can swing a sword around. Grandson, the most important lesson I can teach you is this: The sword is merely an extension of your spirit, Cody. Without a focussed spirit behind it, the sword is just a piece of metal, useless to anyone. With an unfocussed spirit, it swings around with no control, harming that which it seeks to protect. But when the spirit is in unison with the blade..."

"So, is a sword even necessary," Cody asked.

Master Hida, clad in full kendo gear, frowned, eyes locked on Cody. Cody did not flinch and, after a few seconds, the elder Hida smiled. "No. But one must always be prepared for when it is necessary. And now you are ready to begin your lessons."

--

Cody calmed himself, closing his eyes, shutting out the darkness and cold. He smiled, and the fear left him. The darkness was still there when Cody again opened his eyes, but he no longer feared it. "I know you're out there, Armadillomon. I'll find you." He set off.

He took about five steps when his food brushed against something. He could just make out something yellow.

And furry?

--

"Pikachu? PIKACHU!" Ash yelled.

"Hello?" a voice called back. Ash tried to concentrate on the voice. It sounded young, younger than him. And familiar.

"Ash, right," Cody asked. "I remember you from when we met in the Johto area. I think this is yours?" Cody offered Pikachu to Ash.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried. The pokemon leaped up and onto Ash's shoulder. "How'd you find us? Did you use one of those digivice things?"

"No," Cody replied. "But I don't think we need it right now. Come on, let's find everyone else."

The two walked together for a few minutes. "Hey, Cody? Is there something...wrong with me?" Cody glanced at Ash. "I mean, I was brought here, but I don't have a digivice."

"I don't think you need a digivice. It helps a lot, and lets you open portals, but...the bond between me and Armadillomon, that's stronger than anything some object can replace. Am I making any sense?"

"I think so," Ash replied. "Hey, who's that up ahead?"

--

"How...?" Davis and Melody asked.

"I think..." June glanced at Kyle, then Davis. "Remember what Izzy told us? When he and the other digidestined faced Apocalymon?"

"Yeah," Davis replied. "They went in, Apocalymon wrecked their...wait, you mean we don't need-"

"No," Cody said, as the three followed him, Ash and Pikachu. "They were just focusses for us." He glanced ahead at Ash, who was following Pikachu's lead. "I think he already knows that, in a way. I heard him say it earlier; he never needed a digivice."

"But we do-" Davis protested.

"No we don't." June reiterated. "Just once, listen to your big sister?"

Sigh. "I hate it when you use that tone of voice. How's a little brother supposed to argue if you keep pulling that tone on me? Hey, Ken!" Ash led Ken over, who rejoined the group.

"I heard everything," Ken said. "We should be able to break Skull Demon's power. We just need something to focus on." On cue, Melody took out her ocarina, and started playing a haunting tune, calm and a bit sad. "That should do." Silently, Ken wondered if Yolei was any good at music. "We need Imperialdramon."

"No," Davis interrupted. "We need everyone. All the digidestined we met all over the Earth, and any that still haven't come from Kyle's world."

"Plus, we're right here." Imperialdramon's massive form came into view, followed by Shakkouomon, still hard to make out in the darkness.

"I'm glad you're alright," Shakkouomon said to Cody.

"Thank my grandpa," Cody replied. "Now we just need to do something about this darkness. We need a really big source of light that everyone can see."

"Leave that to us. Pikachu, we need the biggest thunderbolt you've ever created. Are you up for it?"

Pikachu glanced up at his trainer. "Pika!"

--

"Are you OK?" Crystal said, helping the redhead up. TK looked around, trying to spot someone else in all the murk.

"Yeah." Misty looked around. "Where's Golduck?"

"All of our partner Digimon are missing." TK explained. "And our digivices. This is getting old. Twice in a lifetime is too much."

Misty stared at TK. "You've done this BEFORE?"

The bolt of lightning cut everyone off. Misty saw it, shook her head, and sighed. "Ash."

"Davis too, probably. Don't tell me I owe him my life." TK was smiling as he said that, though. "Come on."

--

Skull Demon looked around. All around him was darkness, everything swallowed up and gradually being absorbed by the Dark Ocean. All was good. Good thing too; he didn't want to admit it, but that last stunt had taken a lot of his power.

Then the lightning bolt appeared. Going upwards.

"Who dares-?" Skull Demon started to say, then stopped as Imperialdramon, back in his beast form, flew straight up, carrying four humans. "No..."

"Now guys," Imperialdramon shouted.

"DIGIPORT OPEN!" Kyle, June, Ken, and Davis called, opening portals to both the human and pokemon world.

A few more digidestined appeared out of the portal to the Pokemon world. Kyle could feel something odd, a wrongness in the portal, as if it weren't reaching part of his home dimension. His doubts cleared, however, when he saw what the portal to the Human world revealed. Hundreds of digidestined. Young, old, male, female, all types of Digimon imaginable, all of them came down, ready to help.

There was more. The light broadcast by them dispelled the darkness, freeing the digidestined caught up in Skull Demon's attack. He had about half a second to notice that the Japanese digidestineds' digivices reappeared.

Then everyone attacked. The next few minutes were an indescribable mess as every Digimon and pokemon there started launching all sorts of attacks, all with one goal in mind: take down Skull Demon.

Incredibly, the demonic Digimon started to give way under the combined attack. Weakened as he was, Skull Demon was unable to cope with the overwhelming number of attackers he was now facing. Above, three Sabirdramon did aerial attacks. But, by the time he had summoned the energy up to attack, Garurumon and four Greymon were attacking from behind. One memorable moment came when Seadramon, carrying a screaming Edward Silver, slalomed between the demon's ribs, firing ice spears all over. This was followed seconds later by five different legendary pokemon hitting Skull Demon with every element he knew of. And through it all, that blasted Shakkouomon kept absorbing any attacks he did manage to get off and sent them back at him, with interest.

At once, the attacks stopped. Imperialdramon stomped forward, aiming his cannon, and fired, knocking Skull Demon off his feet. "Had enough?"

Staff clutched in a death-grip, Skull Demon staggered to his feet. "Not hardly. I still have one last trump card to play." He roared, and summoned the Destiny Stones he had captured and corrupted. He wasn't able to harvest all of the potential energy inside the stones, but it was enough for at least a partial healing.

"This guy doesn't quit," Davis snarled.

"Everyone who doesn't have a DNA digivolved Digimon, help out someone who does! Channel your energy through your digivices!" Izzy held up his digivice; Kabuterimon changed back to Tentomon, and his energy was sent to Sylphimon.

"Do I have a DNA Digimon?" one child asked.

"You from Japan?" Matt replied.

"No."

"Is your Digimon currently combined with another Digimon?"

"No."

"Then he's not a DNA Digimon."

"Gazimon's a GIRL! Hrmph!" The girl stomped away, ignoring her partner's "I am NOT!" and sending an energy beam to Agnimon.

"I feel weird..." Cyberdramon looked around. "Anyone else feeling it?"

Hovering in midair, Shiryumon nodded. "Yes. I...we need to combine again."

"Again?" Wolfmon looked uncertain.

"Yes." Shakkouomon intoned, floating towards Imperialdramon. Sylphimon followed. One by one, the other DNA Digimon turned into spheres of energy, and merged with Imperialdramon.

"I won't give you a chance to power up! DEATH INFERNO!" The gout of fire flew at the humans nearest Imperialdramon, but it was blocked. Above, Azulongmon grinned behind his mask. It was nice, he realized, to know that he still had it.

The distraction gave Imperialdramon the time he needed. He could feel all of the Digimon, not just the ones who had fused with him, but the power of every Digimon or pokemon and their human partner who had lent him their energy.

"Imperialdramon, mode change to...PALADIN MODE!"

Skull Demon looked at the massive blue and silver Digimon, and nodded. "So, this is the final move. Very well." He tapped his staff on the ground. The top shattered, followed by the rest of the staff, revealing a massive sword, long, silvery, and almost rapier thin, as long as Skull Demon was tall. Imperialdramon readied his own sword, it appearing in his hand, an equally massive silver double-edged blade.

"INFERNAL DIVIDE!"

"OMEGA BLADE!"

It was over before anyone realized it. To Davis, it reminded him of that Zatoichi film he snuck out to see once, or those bootlegged episodes of Samurai Jack he'd 'borrowed' off of Izzy's computer. The two Digimon had charged, made a single attack, and that was it.

Imperialdramon stood up, massive gouge torn along his torso. He was otherwise unaffected. "It's finished, Skull Demon."

"So it is," Skull Demon admitted. His sword snapped in two, the blade falling to the ground. A second later, so did his skeletal left arm. "But there will be others." He toppled over, parts of him disintegrating. "In fact, I can feel one taking my seat right now. I must admit, I'm almost ann-" the rest of his body vanished. The Destiny Stones, drained of most of their power, floated to the ground, Skull Demon's influence over them having vanished.

Amidst the cheering and wild cries, Mewtwo finally smiled a bit. "And we will be waiting for them. Us," he glanced down, "and the true guardians of this Digital World."

---1 week later

Like anything Davis did, it went wildly out of control. Not just the party he had 'suggested' take place at Kyle's home, which then spilled out into the rest of Stone Town. Not that no one minded. Once word had gotten out about the Digital World, they were proud to have one of the heroes be a resident of the town. Suffice it to say, Kyle was tormented endlessly about it by everyone, especially June.

What really had gone haywire was Imperialdramon's dramatic opening of the digital gateway to the Human World. It had saved everyone, yes. The problem was that there was so much power that had gone into opening the portal that it was stuck open now. Humans and Digimon could travel relatively freely to the Digital World.

There was already one amusing story about how two radical animal rights activists had managed to sneak into the Pokemon World, by 'hitching' a ride with a digidestined. They then tried to 'liberate' some pokemon from their trainers. Ash had, naturally enough, mistaken them for members of Team Rocket, and treated them accordingly. They were doing fine now, but one of them was still a little edgy around the colour yellow and thunderstorms.

Still, it was quite a party...

--

TK looked up as the fireworks exploded. "I gotta say, Davis really went all out on this one."

"Yeah," Tai sighed. "I wish we had a party like this after we beat the Dark Masters. Well, it could be worse, I guess." TK nodded. At least, with the digiports remaining open, they wouldn't have to leave behind their Digimon friends again. "So, where's Crystal?"

"Over there; she's just meeting up with some of the other digidestined. I never knew that there were so many, or that we could fit them all into this town."

"It's not everyone." Tai looked around again. "Timezones and everything. Plus some weren't able to make it right now. They'll probably come later. Where is Davis, anyway?" there was some shouts from the stage, where Matt was still setting up.

Tai and TK watched in horror as Davis started singing.

--

"What was THAT?" Seth looked ill as the hideous screeching noise swept over the digidestined.

"It seems Davis has decided to try his hand at singing." Wizardmon felt another migraine coming on. "I'm surprised June didn't try to stop him."

"Where is she, anyway?" Stuart asked. "For that matter, where's Monodramon?"

"June, I haven't seen," Seth replied, not adding that he hadn't seen Kyle for some time either. "Monodramon..."

"What. What is he doing, Seth?" No response. "Seth? This ISN'T FUNNY. He's gone off after Palmon again, hasn't he? I swear..."

Monodramon took that opportunity to show up, leading two humans with him. "Yeah, he's right...HEY, STU!"

Stuart turned to face his partner, saw Mimi was with him, and registered...

Oh my.

Seth was busy trying not to laugh as Stuart's mind seized up.

"Oh, you must be Stuart," Catherine said, walking over to him. "I must say, you are every bit as brave and handsome as Mimi has told me." Catherine played up the French accent for all it was worth.

Mimi turned away, unable to stop giggling.

"I...I...Ahh...er...gahhhhhhh"

"And so eloquent too." Smiling, Catherine took Stuart's arm and guided him away, trying to glare at Monodramon, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

Shaking his head, Seth started to head over to one of the tables where some of the calmer digidestined were. As he moved, he spotted another girl, this one in a wheelchair. "So," he ventured. "First time here?"

Rei Saiba nodded. "One minute, I'm in France with Catherine, then I'm following everyone into the Digital World. It's been...different, to say the least. Oh, I'm Rei."

"Seth."

--

After about 5 seconds of struggle, Davis was dragged off the stage by several people and pokemon. Over the speakers: "I don't want to do this. I sound horrible!"

"No you don't!" a second voice insisted. "Come on, this is no time for cold feet, Sora."

"Yes I...Why am I hearing...MIMI!" Laughter rippled through the audience as Mimi and Melody dragged Sora onto the stage. Mimi waved at Matt, nodded to Izzy, then she and Melody started singing 'Dare Yori.' Sora, still flustered, joined in a few seconds later.

In the audience, Ryo stifled a snort as he saw Tai was watching, entranced. Beside him, Caryl looked uncharacteristically depressed. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just sad it's over. I have to go back to school."

"That's never stopped you before," Ryo said, smiling gently. Nearby, Renamon rolled her eyes. True enough, Caryl was trying to find any excuse to get to the Pokemon world. Not for the reasons Ryo thought, though.

"Yeah, but Mom's going to be clamping down, and even Renamon's taking her side. I'll never make it into the Elite 4."

"...whaaa...HUH?"

Caryl grinned impishly. "Loreli's promised to train me to take over when she retires."

Ryo smiled again. "That's great. Of course, you'll have to put up with me too. I'l be training with Drake."

"Really? Cool, he's nice."

"Yeah, he...You've met Drake?" Ryo was having trouble keeping up. "Great. Aunt Loreli likes you more than her own nephew."

"Well, of course." Caryl glanced at the stage, where the three female digidestined were still singing. "I wish I sounded that nice when I sang."

"You do." Ryo mumbled, fumbling with something.

"Huh? Hey, what's that?" Caryl snatched the item out of Ryo's hand. She saw that it was a minidisc, with a felt-pen inscribed date on it.

"I...uh...I had Izzy make me a copy of that song you did."

"You have a bootleg copy of my first performance? That's sweet! Illegal, but sweet."

Loreli watched all this from a short distance away. Beside her, Charmeleon sighed. "So, she's taking over for you?"

Loreli nodded. "She has potential. And...well, I like her. We need people in the ELite 4 who know how to have fun."

"And you want to annoy Agatha," Charmeleon countered, referring to the psychic specialist.

"Maybe."

--

Cody hated crowds. He wandered around, a little lost. He exchanged a few hellos with some of the other digidestined. That one boy from Vancouver was nice, though he was busy keeping the redhead from trying to challenge someone else to a Digimon battle.

Armadillomon glanced up. "You OK, Cody?"

"Yeah. Just a little overwhelmed. I wonder where Grandpa is?"

"He and mom should be along in a while. Well, hello there."

"Pika? Pika-CHU!" The electric mouse greeted Armadillomon, then motioned for him and Cody to follow.

"Hey, Cody!" Ash yelled, waving. "How're you doing?"

"F...fine, thanks."

"Cody, there you are!" Noriko ran over, followed by Misty. "I was looking all over for you!"

"You were?"

Noriko frowned, and put her fists on her hips. "That's right, mister 'knight in shining armour'. Imagine, leaving a poor girl like me all alone and unescorted. Who knows what kind of weirdos are here?" A few feet away, Brock pranced by, eyes latched onto Kei, from Vancouver. "See?" Noriko insisted. Her facade broke when Brock ran in the opposite direction, pursued by an enraged Kei and Deputymon.

"So, does this sort of thing happen often? The world coming to an end?" Misty looked a bit concerned.

"It's only the second time. Or is it the third? I've lost count. But I think we have a few years of safety." Cody looked down.

"Enough of that negative stuff! Come on, you're taking me to the nearest buffet table. Farfetch'd here is starving!" With that, Noriko dragged Cody off, Armadillomon racing to keep up.

Misty watched the two heading off, suddenly feeling a bit envious. "So, you're going back to school?"

"Yeah," Ash admitted. "That last battle at the Johto League was too close. I only won 'cause I was lucky. Come to think of it, I've been winning a lot of my battles through luck. I...I don't want to keep fighting that way."

"That's not like you." Misty leaned closer. "Are you sure you haven't been possessed by a Haunter or something?"

"No!" Ash took a second, realizing that had come out a bit more forcefully than he had intended. "Sorry. It's...I want to take another shot at the Indigo League. I just want to make up for what happened last time. I have a lot of pokemon now, I'll just train the ones I have. Just wait, next time, I'll take the championship!"

"Don't count on it!" Caryl shouted from across the field, having heard Ash.

--

"Ah, Joe? Joe?"

Joe glanced down, seeing Wormmon. "What's up? Lose track of Ken?"

"No, he's with Yolei making business plans. It's Gomamon..."

"MARCHING MAGIKARP!"

It took about three minutes to clear away the small horde of Magikarp that came out of the water. Gomamon, on the other hand, was caged up at the far end of one of the buffet tables in under 30 seconds, forced to watch as everyone else got food, a giant 'Do not feed' poster mounted on top of the cage.

--

"It'll be the best, Ken! We'll be on the cutting edge of computer consultants. I've got it all worked out!"

Ken nodded, a bit uneasily. "But...I'm not a genius anymore."

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"N..nothing!"

"Good. I've got no room for negativity at Eagle Eye Computer Consultants, Inc. Anyway, we both have to finish school first, so you'll have time to practice."

"I like the name." Hawkmon glanced at the notes Yolei had scribbled down. "You've put a lot of thought into this."

"Hey, we spent most of the last four months inside a computer. We might as well get something out of it aside from a lot of exercise, right?"

"Uhh...right," Ken agreed, trying not to stare as Yolei stretched her arms. "Where...where will we be working?"

"Huh? Why, here, after we get m..." Yolei stopped, face crimson. "We'll work that out later." she mumbled.

"Oh." Awkward silence. "Seth! He's good with computers. We should see if he's interested too!"

"Huh? Yeah, good idea. And some of the other digidestined too." Yolei got up.

Ken came to a decision. "Maybe," he took her hand, "Maybe later, after everything's calmed down a bit?"

Yolei stared at Ken, gulped, and nervously adjusted her glasses. "Uhh...sure."

--

Kari tried to pull Josh along. "Come on, enjoy yourself for once!" Agumon insisted.

Josh smiled, waving off everyone else. "Alright, I'll try. It's just...he's still out there, I know it."

"So what," Kari asked. "If he comes back, we can take care of him."

"My d-"

Gail cut him off. "I promise. If we need help, we will call." She glanced at her son. "Josh, we don't have to run anymore. We don't have to be afraid. So relax."

"Yeah!" Jacob said. "I think we've earned it. Besides, me and Socramon are going to do a little cruising."

"Forget it!" Kristen insisted. "He's coming with me!"

"Children." Gail said in her Mother voice. "Please behave yourselves, we are in public. Besides..." Jacob and Kristen glanced at their mother, confused. "He's coming with me." She snatched up the small Digimon and took off, Jacob and Kristen in pursuit.

Josh watched the rest of his family, a little mystified by the transition from perpetually afraid to being happy.

"I mean it," Kari said. "If you need us, for anything, please call us?"

"Sure. As long as Izzy comes along too. Wouldn't want him to think you were trying to pull something on him."

"Whaa...I'd never go behind Izzy's back. He..." Kari's eyes narrowed. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?"

"Please, continue," Izzy said, enjoying the rare sight of catching Kari off guard.

--Johto region

"Come on, they've already started!"

"I don't know why I'm bothering." Kyle Evanick stepped out of Casey's father's bedroom, having just changed out of his usual clothes into something 'a bit nicer' as Casey had said. "I shouldn't have come."

"Please?" Casey's voice was barely a whisper. "It'd mean a lot to me." Off to one side, Tsukaimon made gagging motions. Kunemon sighed and nodded.

Kyle arched an eyebrow, then sighed. "Fine. Just no baseball, alright?"

"Alright."

"And leave that stupid megaphone here, alright?"

Casey opened her mouth, then realized that she had, purely out of reflex, picked up her baseball bat-shaped megaphone. "Right. One second, I have to get ready too."

Kyle waited in the hallway for a few minutes, trying not to think of anything. Then Casey stepped out of her room. "It's about..." He trailed off. She had swapped out her usual baseball-themed uniform for a more traditional blouse and skirt. It still kept with Casey's Electabuzz fanaticism, being a mix of black and yellow.

"I'm ready to go," Casey said brightly.

Kyle recovered. "Finally. Not bad, but you look like a bumblebee."

"You take that back!"

Tsukaimon leaned over to Yanmamon. "I don't suppose-"

"Don't ask. Just don't," Yanmamon replied firmly.

--

Mimi slumped down in a chair, exhausted. Her initial plan for a quick opening number with Melody and Sora had spun out of control, the audience demanding first one, then a second song from the trio. Still, she was happy things had gone so well. "That went better than expected!"

"I guess so." Melody admitted. "I hope someone's keeping an eye on Davis. Where is he, anyway?"

"Right here!" Davis called, running over. "You guys were great. You ever think about going professional?"

"Huh?" Sora gasped. "Us?"

"You know, he might have something," Melody said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should talk to Matt once he's done?"

"You two go ahead," Sora replied, getting up from where she was sitting. "I'm parched. And I want to know where Tai got to." She looked around. "For that matter, has anyone seen June? Or Kyle?"

"No, now that you mention it." Melody glanced at Davis. "Davis?"

Davis opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and stayed like that, eyes slowly widening.

Veemon and V-mon glanced at Davis. "I think his urge to kill is rising," Veemon sighed. "I don't know why, what's wrong if Kyle and June are alone together somewhere?"

"Not helping." Palmon sighed. "So not helping."

Davis marched off, purpose clear. "I'd better go with him," Melody sighed, getting up.

Sora smiled at her. "Good luck with him." She glanced as there was more noises coming from the stage. "Kami, please, not Tai, he's worse than Davis..."

"It's not." Mimi looked surprised. "This ought to be good..."

-  
To anyone who knew the duo, the scene was familiar. Monodramon was bouncing like a maniac, and Stuart was just holding his head. The reason, however, was slightly different. Catherine, trailing behind the two, was only barely keeping her self from laughing out loud.

"C'mon already! You lost the bet!"

"But...you..."

"You remember, right? I bet you that I could find you a nice girl, and I did! And you didn't believe me. Ha. We Dragon-type Digimon are MASTER matchmakers!"

"...like you're master battlers, Mister KO-ed by Sleep Spore?"

"Shaddup. I won the bet, so you have to do one thing...and that's..."

"...I don't like that grin, Monodramon."

"...get up on stage and sing something! BWAHAHAHA!"

Stuart sighed. "Figures. Just figures that I have a blackmailing maniac for a Digimon partner. I'm holding you responsible for any lynchings, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, get up there!" So saying, Monodramon shoved Stuart on-stage.

"Great, just great. Uh, hi, my partner's making me sing something. Anything, I think." He quickly skimmed over the list of songs. One popped out - The War of 1812, by "Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie."

"Hm. Actually, I think I'll make this a filk song, as I just got an idea..." Certain geekier members of the audience took note of this, though many were just puzzled regarding the term. Monodramon ran over to Matt and whispered something. Matt threw his head back, laughed, and got ready to play, calling some instructions to the rest of the Wolves. The music started playing, and Stuart took up the microphone...

(To the tune of War of 1812, AKA The White House Burned.)

"Ohhhhh...come back, Digidestined...to before Davis's party"  
"No respite from the Dark Ocean! There was no lunch for free..."

Certain someones - Monodramon, Gomamon, and other gluttonous Rookies interjected with the appropriate "Oh my GOD!" Stuart continued.

"In Twenty-aught-two, Demon was mad! He was a Virus-type, you know"  
"He thought he'd tell the Guardians...where they ought to go"  
"He THOUGHT he'd rule the multiverse! He thought that he was tough"  
"Instead, we faced his dark armyyyyyyyy"  
"...aaaaaand trashed Skull Demon's stuff!"

A few cheers at this, though most were looking on in awe - or horror - at the proceedings. The music picked up as the chorus went into full swing.

"And his armies burned, burned, burned! As well as other elements..."

Cheers from fire-using Digimon, and a few good-natured glares from some of the others.

"Everything we'd learned, learned, learned...was put to use that fight"  
"The tide of battle turned, turned, turned! When we all woke the Digital Paladin"  
"And that big bad super-Mega Skull Demon...folded like a poker hand! In the War of Twenty-oh-Two!"

And so...

--

June, part way up Evolution Mountain, stared down at the town square, smiling wistfully. Stuart's debut performance, piped through several speakers, drifted up the mountain.

"I was wondering where you got to." Kyle came forward, Growlithe and Eevee with him. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah. I just needed to get away for a while, you know?"

Kyle nodded. He sat down beside her, and the two watched the party go on, catching Mimi, Sora, and Melody's impromptu performance. After a few more minutes, she went on. "I just want to have a few months where the world isn't hanging in the balance, or I'm not being..." June trailed off, leaning forward a bit. Kyle put an arm around her. She turned towards him, then put her head on his shoulder, sobbing. Kyle said nothing, simply stroking the back of June's head, letting her get the built up emotions out of her. He did notice a large red object leaning against a nearby outcropping of rock.

Finally, June regained control of her emotions. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime," Kyle replied. "So, are you going somewhere?"

June smiled, getting up and pulling Kyle to his feet. "No. But we are going on a pokemon adventure." She held out a pokedex, opening it up and pressing a button.

"Hello," the pokedex chirped, "I am Dexter, a pokedex registered to June Motomiya. If found, please return to the nearest Pokemon center."

(Song: Ready GO! - Pokemon 5th opening)

"Mom said it'd be alright if I took the rest of the year off. And I want to see more of this world. With you."

Kyle kissed her. "Then we should get going, shouldn't we? Are..."

"Yeah," Elecmon growled. "You're stuck with a chaperone, kid, so no funny business."

"Two," Growlithe added.

Eevee nodded. "Three."

Kyle and June smiled. "It won't be easy." Kyle said seriously.

"I know."

"You'll have to sleep outside a lot."

"I'm ready for it."

"And you'll have to take care of any pokemon you catch. I won't do it all for you."

"If I can handle a little brother like Davis, I can handle anything."

"Well, that's my last objection taken care of. You realize that Davis will have a heart attack."

"He'll be fine. But I think he's going to be looking for us by now."

"Then we'd better get going. Growlithe?" Kyle took out his digivice.

"Growlithe, digivolve to...ARCANINE!" Kyle hopped up on the pokemon's back, reached down, and helped June up. As she settled in, she saw that Kyle had a backpack as well.

"You were going too?"

"The Indigo League's not too long away. And the rest of my pokemon need training. Arcanine? Bring it on home!"

--

The roar stopped everyone. Half of the digidestined reached for digivices, convinced that another evil Digimon was about to attack.

Ryo smiled. "That was an Arcanine."

Sora smiled. "They're not...Those two aren't..."

"ELLISON! YOU COME BACK HERE WITH MY SISTER RIGHT NOW! VEEMON, DIGIVOLVE!"

"Veemon, armour digivolve to...Raidramon, the storm of Friendship!" Davis leaped on Raidramon's back, and tore off in the direction of the howl.

"You come back here THIS INSTANT, Davis Motomiya!" Melody chased after Raidramon, the blue and black Digimon slowing down to allow Melody a chance to catch up and get on behind Davis. Both vanished into the twilight.

Epilogue 01

--Dark Ocean.

Magnatar kneeled in front of the throne, now the only one of Demon's attendants remaining.

On the throne, Murmuxmon sat. From one finger dangled a long silvery chain with a black and white sphere at the end. Incredibly, he was content. The Digital World was still free, and the digidestined ran unchecked over three worlds.

Fine. He had everything he wanted for now. The rest of the worlds cold wait.

"Who's laughing now, Arukenimon. My love."

Epilogue 02

--Indigo League, 1 year later.

"I can't believe I lost in the first round," June moaned.

"It happens. I got knocked out in the semis. We'll do better next time, right?"

June nodded. "Yeah. At least we were beaten by the same person. I blame myself; I forgot that they were allowing Digimon in this time around. So, you got the transfer done?"

"Yup. I'll be finishing school in Stone Town. And the interview?"

"Nurse Joy thinks I might have what it takes to be a pokemon doctor after all. I hear that's where Joe headed. Hope I run into him, I miss him. And I want to hear about that Feebas incident." Both he and June snickered, recalling the newspaper articles. "It's incredible. After only one year of practise at this, to come this far..."

Down on the field, Ash Ketchum sighed. "Well, third place is a lot better than 16th." he admitted. Pikachu, perched on his shoulder, nodded. He glanced up at the stands, spotting a familiar face waving at him. Ash smiled back at Misty, waving back at her.

A little higher up, Ryo sighed. "I should have stayed in the solos division."

"Grow up, you baby," Charmeleon chided him. "Even the great ones lose the odd match. Keeps us humble."

"You're still mad over that kick she pulled off."

"Just one more second. If that Wing Attack had connected..."

"Now who's being the baby?"

And, at the first place position...

"Woo-HOO! THANK YOU, EVERYONE!" Caryl jumped up and down, waving to everyone in the stadium. It had been one of the most remarkable winning streaks in the Indigo league's long history, and one of the most dramatic battles. The 'net was already overloading with people swapping video clips of the battle between Renamon and Charizard. Some people were already wondering if Caryl might aim at the Elite 4 next. "I'll be back next year!"

Ash and Ryo traded looks of horror. "I think it might be safer in the Johto region," Ash whispered.

"Where do you think she's headed next?" Ryo sagged. "Right now, Aunt Loreli is just laughing herself silly, I just know it."

The end

Credits:  
Digimon was created and owned by Bandai, who's got a slice of, like, EVERYTHING these days. Pokemon was created by Satoshi Tajiri, and currently exists under the tyrannical rule of Nintendo and Game Freak.  
War Devidramon and Metal Devidramon created by NinetalesUK and used with permission Socramon, Cheetahmon, Cougmon, and SkullCheetahmon created by Terratamer Gladimon and Witchmon created by Alan Wilkinson. No hard feelings?  
Dakarimon created by Trey Miller

The Authordestined are:  
Crystal Melin and Kurt(Espeon)  
Caryl Kyashi and Renamon  
Joshua Johhanesen and Agumon   
Seth Turtle and Wizardmon   
Stuart and Monodramon   
Scott Evans and Black Agumon (See Tales of the Digidestined)  
Kyle Evanick and Tsukaimon   
NinetalesUK as Edward Silver and Penguinmon   
Trey Miller and Dakarimon  
Alan Wilkinson and Gladimon

The author would like to thank:  
DigifansAnon, where this fic got started,  
The Digicross Mailing List, where most of the typos were deleted for hosting the fics   
Megchan, for creating the best Digimon Encyclopedia ever  
the best Pokemon resource on the net   
Wikipedia, when I needed some random tidbit   
Encyclopedia Mythica, for extra ideas   
Bandai, for creating Digimon (And Sony for the PSX that ran DW3)  
Satoshi Tajiri for creating Pokemon   
CLAMP Studios for too many anime to list (WE WANT TSUBASA)  
Namco, for much 'Tales of...' goodness (Arche-chann! BRING ME TALES OF PHANTASIA)  
Doctor Osamu Tezuka, for creating Astro Boy   
And...LIGHTNING ROUND! Rumiko Takahashi, Bandai (for the kewl Gundam model kits), Spider Robinson (For the boss SF stories), Theodore Sturgeon (For even more boss SF stories), Mongoose Publishing, makers of the Lone Wolf RPG and Resource book, Guardians of Order, for the creation of the Tri-Stat system and all the worlds that go with it, Beat the Geeks, Ben Stein, Freakazoid, Naoko Takeuchi, Linkin Park, Seal, Luca Turilli, R. Talsorian, Hero System, Silver Age Sentinels, Excel Saga, Hayao Miyazaki, J.M. Straczynski, Hamtaro (twitch), Aaron Williams and the class of 2005 of PS 238, Steve Jobs for creating a practical Graphic User Interface System, Bill Gates for running with something approaching the idea, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart...

And, as always, June Motomiya.

To everyone who is reading this, sorry I took so long.  
Respectfully,  
Patrick O'Shea

The future:  
Note: I realize that a lot of people weren't too enamored with the '25 years later' bit at the end of Digimon 02. Neither was I, but, with the writing of Digicross Tamers and Frontier, I feel a bit safer about doing this. So...

Tai became a diplomat, handling relations between the Human World and the Digital World. He retired soon after the infamous 'Pocky Incident' though. Sora, his wife, helped him deal with a lot of stress, and prevented him from killing Davis. Sora got pulled back into the limelight when she, Mimi, and Melody formed 'Three Seasons', a musical group that Mimi insisted wasn't a J-Pop group. When not singing, she's a fashion designer with her own label. Her tagline is 'Stuff you actually WOULD wear outside the house.' They have three children, Yamato, Sakura, and Mimi.

Matt briefly considered a career as an astronaut, then thought better of it, having finally married Mimi. He had some success with his band, but eventually went into business, starting a record label, then taking over the television company his father had spent so many years at. When not on tour, Mimi hosts a cooking show there. No one's complained, at least, as long as Gabumon's been in charge of the complaints department. After a close call, their daughter Yohko took up kendo, and their son Taichi became his mom's assistant.

Joe finally graduated a doctor, and moved to Olivine City, where he spends part of his time at the Digimon Center in Primary Village. He married a pokemon trainer named Lisa, and is generally glad that he doesn't have to save the world anymore. Keeping track of Hikaru, his daughter, is enough work for him.

TK and Seth co-wrote a novel based on their adventures, and made a small fortune. TK still writes, focusing on adventure and science fiction stories. He and his wife Crystal live in Cerulean City, and have one daughter, Asuka.

Seth joined Ken and Yolei Inoue as one of the consultants for Eagle Eye Computers as an on-call consultant. When not there, he and Rei Saiba are enjoying life together, as a self-styled wandering guru and freelance writer. Rei, who's getting around quite well thanks to some advances in regenerative medicine, couldn't be happier.

Ken and Yolei have their hands full with their business, the occasional dive into voice acting, and three children, Samuel, Michael, and Mimi. They have a large and dedicated staff that's always telling Yolei to slow down, Ken to stop being so miserable, and 18 month old Mimi not to eat mom's office supplies.

Izzy and Kari married and lived in Stone Town for a long time. Then they moved to New Bark Town, Izzy taking over from the retiring Professor Birch, Kari accepting a teaching position at an elementary school. They have three children, Kyoko and Ryoko, twins, and Emiko.

What didn't Davis do? Failed diplomat who barely avoided getting jailed for copyright infringement during the infamous 'Pocky Incident', thanks to a lot of wrangling by Tai, who used the 'He didn't mean it, he's just an idiot' defense. Semi-successful restaurateur. Headed an animation studio briefly, and came up with the idea for the hit anime 'Angel Defense Force', based loosely on TK, Kari, and Kyle (who he eventually forgave for marrying June) and their partner monsters. Still a kid in a lot of ways. Melody somehow puts up with him. Despite being named after his godfather, Takeru Motomiya still takes far too much after his dad.

Cody continued to be Noriko's knight in shining armour, even after he walked her down the aisle and married her. Continuing his grandfather's kendo school(Kogen Itto-ryu), he moved it to the Pokemon world and incorporated his own moves into the style. Yukio Oikawa spent some time with Cody, helping to finish construction of the first school before passing away. Hiroki is their only son, and has already been declared 'utterly adorable' by the other digidestined.

It should be noted that Noriko, while not as skilled as Cody, still swings a mean naginata. As Takeru can attest to.

Kyle Evanick finally married Casey. He still hates baseball. Besides, he's too busy, keeping Kate, their daughter, from strangling Tobias, their son. Yusuke, the youngest son, just rolls his eyes and watches the chaos.

Caryl, as predicted, went on to join the Elite 4, capping a long and successful career as a pokemon trainer. She also allowed Ryo to marry her, after one of the oddest courtships anyone had seen. They have one adopted daughter, Akira, who's just as energetic as Caryl still is.

Much to Stuart's surprise, Catherine turned out to be a bit of a gamer geek, specifically one that Stuart had already chatted with online a few times previously. What followed was a bit of a headtrip involving the role-playing game In Nomine, numerous Munchkin rematches, and the development of the 'Duel Anime' CCG, which earned the two a lot of money. And a nice little place in the Orange Archipelago.

Edward Silver still is in the Orange Archipelago, watching over the young Lugia entrusted to him. Or chasing after him, depending on the pokemon's mood. Penmon never gets tired of swimming after him, fortunately. And he's only had to fight off various pokemon thieves four times.

After many more adventures, Josh eventually found a home for himself in Houen with a charming young lady named Dori, who wishes that he'd stop working so much and relax. Chris and Cassie, thier children, tend to agree with Dori.

After a lot of time together, Kyle and June married and moved into the family home in Stone Town. June took over the Pokemon Gym there, and Kyle works at the pokemon center, where he regularly chides his wife about 'being too hard' on all the pokemon trainers that come through. Both utterly love and cherish their one daughter, Hitomi, and laugh themselves silly every time Hiroki comes over.

Punctuated by another threat to the world and an overly hasty black eye given to Kyle by TK, Mikhail Ellison and Natsuko 'Nancy' Takashi married 3 years after Demon was defeated. Mr. Ishida seemed pleased.  
But that a tale for another time...


End file.
